


The Last Of The Dragon-Witches

by Ali6ce



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, daimon - Freeform, dragon - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:02:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 33,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24241018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ali6ce/pseuds/Ali6ce
Summary: Virgil spent his life hidden away in the woods with his dragon, knowing that if someone saw him, they would probably kill him, putting an end to the species of Dragon Witches.But when a young, handsome prince stumbled into his camping site, wounded and panicked, he didn't have the heart to leave him there to die.Not when he realized he was his soulmate.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Dr. Emile Picani/Sleep | Remy Sanders, Morality | Patton Sanders/Deceit Sanders
Comments: 65
Kudos: 219





	1. 1

**1**

Virgil has always been alone with his dragon, living in the forest, away from any form of civilization. Being the last of his kind was dangerous, everyone had been looking for him for a long time, and even now that they had forgot, they would kill Nyx, his dragon, in the bat of an eye if they even catch a glimpse of her.

So he made the effort of living in the wilderness, building a small "house" from scratch, learning how to hunt for food and countless way to hide, even in plain sight.

It has been years, though, since the last time someone came looking for him, or in the woods at all for that matter, and Virgil had started to carelessly stroll through the forest, not worrying about someone seeing him or Nyx.

It was almost midnight and the two of them were lying outside of the small shelter they built years before, looking up at the stars in a peaceful silence, enjoying the warmth of the fire crippling beside them, when a branch behind them snapped, making them jump. In a matter of seconds they were on their feet, staring off into the dark of the night, Nyx starting to emit a low and grave growl when, thanks to her night vision, she saw a human holding a sword moving just a few yards away from them.

" _Nyx, fly and hide above the trees. Blend with the environment._ " Virgil immediately said through the mind link that connected the two of them.

" _What?! No! I won't leave you alone! He has a sword!_ " She exclaimed, planting her feet in the ground.

The young man rolled his eyes, scoffing.

" _Of course, because everyone would kill a random man in the woods. Who would think they were just a hunter?_ " He replied sarcastically before adding: " _If you stay here, he'll attack us for sure, but if you hide I may have a chance to drive him away; now go._ " Nyx looked at him skeptically, making Virgil finally lose his patience, hearing the stranger get closer and closer each second.

" _NYX I SAID GO, NOW!_ "

The dragon growled but did as asked and took flight, blending immediately with the environment and making it clear that she would make the young boy pay for making her hide.

Virgil sat back down trying to calm his breath down as he waited for the man to show up.

" _Nyx share your night vision so I can see where he is._ " He sent through the mind link, folding his arms and laying back against the wood wall of the small shelter and bringing a leg slightly to his chest.

" _No._ " Dead-panned the dragon, making Virgil's eyes widen and then his brows furrow, gritting his teeth.

" _What?! Why not?!_ " He could hear the creature smirk as she answered him: " _You wanted to do things as a normal human, all by yourself, so why would I share my precious night vision with you?_ "

" _You son of a-_ " Virgil didn't get to finish his insult because right at that moment the stranger appeared from the shadows, making Virgil jump in surprise.

He stopped in his tracks.

The both of them stayed silent, staring at each other and studying one another for a few seconds.

"Good evening." The stranger finally spoke, breaking the silence.

The young man didn't say anything, answering with just a small movement of the head. Silence one again settled between the two as Nyx looked down on them from her hiding spot up in the trees: the stranger still had the sword with the golden hilt in hand, but it didn't look like he had any intensions of using it; the white jacket he was wearing hugged his torso perfectly, the golden details reflecting the light of the small fire every now and then and worked perfectly with his black pants and classy shoes.

" _He looks like a royal._ " She commented through the mind link.

" _I know. But there's something off about him. It almost looks like he's in pain..._ "

"So why is a young man like you all alone in the forest so late at night?" The man asked suddenly in a slightly posh voice. Virgil just raised an eyebrow, letting a smirk appear on his lips.

"I could ask you the same thing."

When he answered his voice was raw and husky for the long time it was left unused. A small smile appeared on the stranger's face.

"Touchè."

They smiled at each other's for a second, before a jolt of pain made the royal like persona bend in half, holding his side, his eyes squeezed shut and hissing in pain.

Virgil's eyes widened and he immediately jumped to his feet, running to the guy's side, only then noticing the blood covering his jacket.

"What happened?!" He asked, his voice panicked as he helped him get in the small structure and lay on the ground.

"I..." he stopped, grunting in pain as his back touched the floor. "My men and I were riding through the woods to get to the kingdom when we got caught in an ambush. I-I was the only one able to get away."

The thought of people going through the forest without him knowing, made Virgil pale a little.

" _Do you think they-_ “

" _I don't know._ " Immediately answered Nyx, " _But that's a problem for later. You have to help him or he'll die, and if he dies you won't be able to make him your boyfriend._ "

" _Nyx!_ " Exclaimed Virgil blushing.

" _What? You know he's cute, that was your first thought._ "

" _Ugh, shut up and come here, you giant lizard._ " He thought rolling his eyes as he heard the dragon flying down.

" _Excuse me?! I prefer the term 'dragon', thank you very much. Also, rude. Now get ready, I'm about to land so you'll be able to heal Prince Charming over there._ "

Virgil turned towards the exit, immediately hearing the creature's big paws landing on the grass covered ground. He picked up the wounded guy carefully and took him back outside.

As he was about to gently lay him down, the guy's eyes widened and his skin paled as he saw the dragon in front of him, and squirmed out of Virgil's arms, harshly falling to the ground.

He scurried back, drawing his sword.

"Get away from us you horrible monster or I'll swear I'll kill you!" He screamed pointing the weapon towards his aim.

" _Okay, you know what? He's not that cute, you can live without him. I don't like him anymore. C'mon, let's leave him here to die._ "

Virgil chuckled.

" _Oh, come on Nyx, he's never seen a dragon, or a Dragon witch for that matter, give him a break._ "

The dragon huffed in annoyance as the Dragon Witch got closer to her.

"No! Stop! You're gonna get yourself monstrously killed!" The prince screamed immediately, desperately trying to get up, making Virgil laugh and Nyx roll her eyes.

" _What a drama queen._ "

" _Be nice._ " The guy sent a sideways glance to the dragon before leaning back on the creature's smooth scaled side, turning towards the man still trying to get up.

"Hey, stop moving like that, you're gonna make your wound worse. She's not gonna hurt you or me. Her name's Nyx and she's my dragon."

The guy immediately looked up, staring at him for a second, shocked, before his eyes started to shift between the guy and the creature.

" _What are you?!_ " He exclaimed, a shocked and scared expression on his face.

Virgil smirked, his eyes lit up of a bright violet color, his arms folded on his chest as a purple aurea started surrounding him with lighting crippling around him, making the guy gasp as his eyes widened.

"I'm the last of the Dragon Witches."


	2. 2

**2**

Roman couldn't move. Yes, he knew about the existence of the Dragon Witches, of course he did, he was the prince for cryin out loud! But he also knew they were extinct! Or at least that's what everyone told him!

He stared at the guy, completely petrified by fear remembering the gruesome legends he was told about his kind, as the glowing died down and his eyes went back to normal.

Virgil could see out of the corner of his eyes Nyx smirking and chuckling to herself, but when he noticed how scared the princely guy actually was, his eyes turned worried.

" _Nyx stop laughing, I think we broke him._ " He said through the link, making the creature roll her eyes.

" _Oh come on, it was hilarious! He's just a little scared!_ " The dragon laughed again, stopping only when she noticed Virgil's glare.

They looked at each other for a second, before Nyx huffed in annoyance, once again rolling her snakelike eyes.

" _Fine. I'll turn around and lay down, you do your thing and calm him down before he has a panic attack._ "

After she did as she said, Virgil adverted his eyes back to the guy, who was once again trying to slowly scoot away towards the sword he dropped after seeing him glow.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his mind focused on Roman as he mumbled a small spell under his breath. Immediately a soft blue hue started to shine dully around him, leaving his body in small concentric circles.

Roman froze, feeling his whole body relax as soon as the light circles hit him; his eyes were wide and his skin still pale, but somehow he looked... calmer. He felt calmer.

"W-what have you done?" He whispered when the light died down.

Virgil smirked, opening his eyes to look at him.

"It was a calming spell." His smile vanished when he saw the prince was still terrified and ready to run. He sighed, ignoring the small spark of sadness in his chest.

"Okay, listen: I know you're terrified, and considering the fact that you're the first human i came in contact with in decades, my social skills aren't the best, but here's the thing: you either let us help you, or you'll die."

He knew he was being harsh but he couldn't think of any other way to make him understand.

"You'll- you'll kill me?!" Roman freaked out making Virgil facepalm and sigh heavily.

" _Woah, he's dumb as shit._ "

" _Shut up Nyx, he's just panicked and you know it._ "

" _I do, but he insulted me, so I'll give back the same treatment._ "

The Dragon-Witch shook his head at the pettiness his dragon was showing, cutting off the mind link and going back to the royal guy in front of him, who was still looking at him terrified.

"No, we won't kill you. On the other hand if you don't let us help you the wound on your side probably will."

Only then the prince seemed to remember the pain in his torso, his hand going to touch it gently, wincing in pain at the slightest pressure.

His face paled again when he saw all the blood on his hand, his lips quivering and his body shaking. He didn't want to die.

Slowly, Virgil kneeled in front of the royal, looking into his eyes.

" _Hurry up moron,_ ” grumbled Nyx, making the darkly dressed guy shoot a glare her way.

" _Shut up, I know what I'm doing._ " He lied, turning back towards the prince.

Making sure his movement were slow and well visible, Virgil took out a small obsidian knife, making Roman gasped and jump backwards slightly, wincing in pain afterwards, his eyes filling with tears.

With all the ways he thought he would die, that was certainly not one. Who would have thought the mighty, seemingly fearless prince would die killed by something that should have been extinct?

He squeezed his eyes shut, tensing up and waiting for the guy to strike.

But, to his surprise, he never did.

Hesitantly he opened his eyes, shooting a questioning look to Virgil who was handing him the knife.

The Dragon-Witch offered him a small, nervous smile.

"This knife is made out of obsidian, the only thing that can wound me without me instantly healing." He said, his voice low and gentle, calming almost, stopping to see if the prince understood where he was going with it.

"And why are you giving it to me?" He asked, browns furrowed in confusion.

Nyx, who had been listening in to their conversation, jumped up hearing those words, turning her long neck to hiss at Virgil, making Roman quiver back in fear, wide eyed.

" _What the hell are you thinking?!_ "

" _I know what I'm doing._ " Virgil hissed back angrily, his eyes still fixed on the prince reassuringly, but the creature didn't listen to him.

" _Are you stupid? He could kill you and, just so you remember, I would die too! What-_ "

" _He's fucking scared!_ " He growled angrily, sharply turning around to glare ay his companion. " _He needs something to reassure him that he will be safe! Plus my gut is telling me he won't do anything._ "

" _Well tell your gut to shut up and re-evaluate its life choices because I sure as hell have no intention of dying for its bad ones!_ " Nyx hissed back vehemently.

Virgil's eyes flowed faintly.

" _I'm still your master and you will do as I say, whether you like it or not._ " He barked through the mind link, making the dragon bow her head slightly as she laid back down, grumbling.

The Dragon-Witch slowly turned back around towards the prince, his small smile returning.

"I'm giving this to you so that if you ever feel like you're in danger, you can..." he started finally answering his question, stopping a second on this word and sighing heavily, his lips in a thin line. "You can stab me and run."

Roman started at Virgil, wide eyed, as the guy handed him the knife encouraging him to take it. Was this guy he just met really offering him the only thing that could kill him just so that he could help him?

"So? What are you waiting for? Take it."

With shaky hands, the prince took the blade, his eyes not leaving Virgil's as the guy gently helped him to take off his expensive clothing, exposing the wound and making him wince slightly.

The Dragon-Witch took a sharp intake of breath seeing the large and deep cut on the prince toned torso; it went all the way from his left hip to his chest, blood was still coming out of the irregular edges, staining his skin in red.

Virgil swallowed the nausea at the sight and gently pushed Roman so he was laying down.

"I'm gonna have to call here Nyx, the wound is too large to heal with just my energy, is that okay?" He asked in a soft, almost whispered voice, as he watched Roman tense up and hold the knife a little tighter.

As soon as he nodded, Virgil called Nyx's name out loud, telling her to be gentle and to not mess with the wounded guy through the mind link, making the dragon roll her eyes.

She slowly turned around, laying back down so that her head was placed right next to Virgil.

He gently placed a hand on her head, the other one slightly over the prince's wound, not quite touching the broken skin.

The Dragon-Witch took a deep breath, closing his eyes and trying to ignore Roman's penetrating stare, concentrating only on the image of the wound healing.

The Prince's lips parted slightly, his eyes widening as he watched a soft hue of purple light wrap around Virgil and slowly making its way from his chest to his shoulder, then to his arm and, finally, his hand.

Roman could see and feel the light seeping into his skin. He watched as the edges of the wound slowly went back together, healing.

After a few minutes he moved his eyes from the now healing wound to Virgil, observing his features. His brows were furrowed in concentration, his lips pressed together in a thin line, the veins in his neck clearly strained from the effort as small drops of sweat started to cover his forehead.

Feeling eyes on him the prince lowered his gaze meeting the dragon's snake-like eyes and holding back a flinch. They stared in each other's eyes for a few seconds, before the creature did something Roman would have never expected: " _Did...did this dragon just_ ** _winked_** _at me? And why the hell is it-_ ** _she_** **_smirking_** _?_ ”


	3. 3

**3**

Roman closed his eyes tightly for a second, thinking that maybe it was just an hallucination, but when he opened them back up the dragon was still staring at him; after a few seconds she told him to look back towards the Dragon-witch with a small movement of the eyes.

The prince obliged lifting his gaze slowly and finally bringing it back on his healer, only to see him sway slightly as the purple hue that previously surrounded him quickly faded away. Before Roman could even understand what was happening, the guy who helped him was collapsing on the ground.

He shot up, only mildly realizing that his side no longer hurt, and tried to get close enough to help him; as soon as he even tried to reach out his hand though, Nyx quickly wrapped her body around her owner, growling protectively and snapping her jaw towards his hand as a warning.

The prince jumped back immediately, falling on his butt and quickly scurrying away. His breath was labored as he stared the beast in the eyes. The creature gaze quickly left his to focus on his hand, only for a second, before going back where it started. Roman did the same thing, only then realizing he was still holding the knife the healer gave him and he had unconsciously tightened his grip around it when the guy fainted.

When he once again looked towards Nyx, she didn’t even hesitate before growling, showing her sharp fangs to the prince and huffing out some smoke warningly. Roman’s breath hitched for a second at the sight, his mind reeling as panic almost took over him; why wasn’t he running? The Dragon-witch was not awake now, he couldn’t hold back the beast, if she wanted she could easily kill him. But he couldn’t just leave the guy who just saved his life in the middle of the forest with a giant and aggressive lizard when he knew there was a group of skilled and ruthless murderers wondering around there, looking for God-knows-what! If anything was to happen to him, he knew would have never forgiven himself.

So letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, he slowly bent down, stopping for only a second when the creature let out another growl; carefully, he set the weapon down before quickly kicking it towards a bush, far away from him.

Nyx tilted her head slightly, seemingly confused by the action, but Roman could still see the diffidence in her eyes as clear as day. He straightened back up, holding his hands up by the side of his face, his palms facing her, leaving his still naked chest completely vulnerable.

“I won’t hurt him. I just want to help.” He started calmly. “I don’t have any weapon on me, and even the one that could actually hurt him is now in that bush over there, where I can’t reach it without you noticing it immediately.”

He felt stupid talking to an animal as if he could understand him, but what other choice did he have? Plus he saw how the dragon and the guy looked at each other before, he knew they were able to communicate, so who was him to say that she didn’t understand what he was telling her?

Slowly he took a step forward, stopping once again when a growl reached his ears; this time though it was more gentle, more like a weak threat than an actual danger. Only when Nyx laid her head down, her eyes still fixed on him, observing his every move, did he resume walking. Once he was in front of the unconscious guy, he slowly got down to his knees, ignoring the dragon’s faint growl and the shiver that it sent down his spine, knowing that she was just worried. Gently he put his head on his chest, checking if he was breathing and letting out a sigh of relief when he saw he was.

He straightened back up and sat down behind the Dragon-witch’s head, gently putting it on his lap, before looking up towards Nyx.

“I think he’s okay. Could you maybe, I don’t know, lift his legs?” He asked hesitantly. After all he was still talking to a dragon, right?

To his surprise, though, the creature gently nuzzled her snout under his feet and wrapped her whole body around the both them, making Roman immediately tense up, his eyes widening as they met the dragon’s gaze.

Nyx rolled her eyes seeing how much of a wuss the guy was being, before pushing him against her using her tail, silently chuckling at the unmanly screech Roman let out.

It took a while, but the prince finally relaxed against her, letting the exhaustion of the day take over and falling asleep, the ambush only a distant memory in his mind.

***

Slowly Virgil regained consciousness, his head pounded painfully and the sun shining directly in his eyes was surely not helping. With a small groan he turned his head the other way, gently nuzzling his face further in the warmth of his pillow.

Immediately his eyes shot open and he quickly sat up, the dizziness that hit him almost making him fall back down if it wasn’t for Nyx’s tail, holding him up just in time. He thanked her through the mind-link, holding his head and gently massaging his temples, his eyes fixed on the ground.

After a few seconds the nausea and the dizziness eventually faded and he finally noticed someone was on the ground right where he was laying only minutes before; slowly his eyes traveled back up form the nice black dress shoes on the ground, to the legs hugged by soft white trouser, up to the strong, toned torso where a thin white scar ran all the way from his left hip to his chest, and finally up to his face.

He felt his cheek heat up as he realized that the “pillow” he thought he was sleeping on was in reality the prince he saved the day before.

“ _So… How did Prince Charming feel as a cushion?_ ”

“ _Oh, shut up_."


	4. 4

**4**

It took almost an hour for the princely guy to wake up, giving time to Virgil to find some berries for breakfast and to interrogate Nyx on how he handed up in the prince’s lap, which she didn’t help with at all but just kept teasing him about red he was when he woke up.

Virgil had just come back with everything when the guy finally sat up, stretching and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Good morning Princey. Slept well?” The Dragon-Witch said, watching the guy yawning.

Roman nodded muttering out a sleepy “‘morning” before shivering as a gush of cold breeze blew on his skin, making him realize only then that he was still shirtless.

He blushed bright red, starting to look around for his clothes, making Virgil chuckle and toss them to him; he stopped for a second before putting them on, his fingers going to trace the scar on his torso gently.

“Thank you again for, you know, healing me.” He said feebly before quickly getting dressed.

The darkly dressed guy just smiled and nodded, handing him some berries and sitting down in front of him with his legs crossed and his back against his dragon’s warm side.

“So, does the wounded prince have a name or…?” He asked teasingly but with an actual glint of curiosity in his eyes. Even Nyx, who was pretending not to care about anything turned an ear their way, making Virgil gently push back on her jokingly.

“ _What? I can be curios too and still don’t care about Manly Screech over there._ ”

Dragon-Witch furrowed his brows in confusion hearing the nickname, but decided to let it slide and focus on the slightly blushing prince in front of him.

“Oh, uhm, sure I’m Roman.” He stuttered out scratching his neck awkwardly.

It only took him a few seconds to his confidence though. “And may I know the name of my magical savior?”

The guy blushed slightly when, hearing what the prince said, Nyx shoved him jokingly, completely ignoring his glare.

“Virgil.” He muttered quickly.

There was just silence for a few seconds as they just ate and looked around.

“So, Virgil… when did you find out about being a Dragon-Witch?” Roman asked slightly tilting his head.

He was still tense around the big creature quietly laying behind the guy, but he at the moment he was way too intrigued to care about her.

Virgil shuffled uncomfortably; he was not used to talk to people, let alone to talk about himself, but for some reason that he did not understand he was more nervous about what the guy would think of him than actually having to talk.

His eyes wandered off, looking anywhere but at the prince in front of him, as he started fidgeting with his fingers.

“I guess I always knew? I don’t know I don’t really remember the first few years of my life.” He shrugged, shooting Roman a glance, only to se a question clear in his eyes.

He sighed before explaining.

“When I was around 4 years old a war started near where me and my family lived. People where going around looking for Dragon-Witches and killed them, convinced they were malicious entity. In reality we never hurt a fly, but they didn’t care about that. They killed everyone. I was hiding in the stable behind my house as instructed by my mom when they set it on fire. I tried to escape but tripped and hit my head on the ground hard enough to cause a permanent amnesia. I survived only thanks to Nyx over here,” he petted her scaly skin fondly and smiled as he heard her purr like a cat, “and she is also the only reason why I know what happened. When I woke up I made Nyx take me back to my house, but everyone was already dead. I lived in the woods ever since, hiding from everyone.”

When he finished he looked up at Roman. The princely guy didn’t know what to say. He pushed back the tears he felt starting to pool in his eyes at the thought of a small 4 year old Virgil going back to his house and finding his whole family just dead, having to live all alone.

“I-I’m sorry.” He whispered, lowering his eyes. He didn’t know what else to say.

Virgil shrugged as if it was no big deal.

“It was a long time ago.”

“How old are you now?” Roman asked, pushing the thought of what Virgil told him in the back of his mind not wanting to think about it.

“28. How about you?” This time it was the darkly dressed guy who tilted his head in curiosity. He didn’t know why but he felt the urge to get to know the guy.

“27” The prince answered, making the Dragon-Witch smirk.

“Aw, you’re a youngling.” He chuckled, making Roman blush slightly.

“Shut up I’m only a year younger!”

Virgil bursted out laughing seeing the guy’s frustration and he felt something slowly stir inside him. He had to admit he did find the guy very attractive, but that didn’t explain what he was feeling; not even _he_ knew how to explain it. It was his heart warmed up whenever he looked in roman’s direction and the prince’s smile made all the colors around them look just that tiny bit brighter.

He shook his head, trying to shake away the feeling.

“So,” he broke the silence that had spread between them, “Now you know my whole tragic back story and I only know your name and your age. What’s your story Prince Charming?”

Roman blushed at the nickname, sending a quick look towards Virgil. Why was he making him feel this way?

He sighed. “There’s not much of a story to tell here. I’m the prince of a near by kingdom, always lived there, rarely even left the palace if not for training or occasional educational trips; to be honest the only exiting thing that happened to me was yesterday, when some of our patrolling guards saw a group of suspicious looking people wondering in the forest. We went to check it out and got caught in an ambush and then we met.”

He lowered his eyes once again, a bit embarrassed about how boring his life must sound. Yes, he was the prince but that did not mean he had an exiting life. The exact opposite actually, all the strictness and the rules, ‘do this’, ‘don’t do that’, ‘sit up straight, a prince does not slouch’.

Virgil only nodded, a small smile on his lips, before his eyes shined with a new thought that made him sit up straight.

“What happened yesterday after I passed out? Do you still have the knife I gave you?”

Roman looked confused for a second before his eyes filled with realization.

“Oh, I tried to help you but forgot I was still holding the knife and almost had my hand snap off by the lizar- Nyx.” he corrected quickly hearing her growl.

“ _I hate him_ ” She grumbled through the mind link, making Virgil scoff and roman throw him a confused look.

“So I threw the knife in that bush over there and came to help.” He continued deciding to ignore his confusion and pointing towards a tall and dense bush.

“Well, thank you for helping me.” Virgil smiled as he slowly got up to retrieve the weapon.

He bent down, moving the leaves away with his hands, and carefully looked everywhere, but to no avail. The knife was gone.

He took a deep breath, trying not to panic, and was about to look around more carefully when something sharp and cold was put under his chin. He felt the blade being pushed harder against his skin forcing him to look up towards whoever was holding it.

“Were you looking for this?”


	5. 5

**5**

Virgil looked up at his offender seeing no more than a silhouette thanks to the sun shining behind his back. When he felt the blade push upwards even more he started to slowly get up, keeping his arms in the air as to show the stranger that he meant no harm.

“ _Nyx, hide over the trees, someone has my knife, I will cast a spell so they won’t be able to see or hear you._ ” He sent through the mind link as he mentally casted the spell not waiting for an answer.

“ _Bitch don’t even think about it, I’m not about to leave you alone with this moron over here!_ ”

“ _That was not a request Nyx. Now go, I’ve already casted the spell there is nothing you can do._ ”

With that said he heard her groan, but felt the mind link get weaker, meaning that she did in fact listen to him.

“Now,” the stranger started, pushing the point of the knife more in his neck, slightly drawing blood before making him back up slowly, “I will only ask you this one time.”

By the time he finished the sentence they were back in the clearing and Virgil could hear Roman gasping quietly.

“Where. Is-”

“Kiddo! There you are!” Said a cheery voice suddenly, interrupting the guy and making the Dragon-Witch try to shoot a glance behind him.

There was “humpf” sound followed by the sound of two bodies colliding with each other.

“Patton, you ruined it! I was so close to get him to talk!” The offender said without lowering the knife and rolling his eyes.

“Patton?! Logan?! What are you guys doing here?!” Virgil heard Roman ask, but he was never able to hear the answer.

With an ear-splitting roar, Nyx came down from the trees, using her tail to snatch her owner away. 

She landed only a few feet away from the others, hiding the dragon witch behind her as she glared daggers at everyone, growling.

 _“I thought I told you to stay hidden!”_ Virgil growled through the mind link, glaring at his dragon.

“ _And I told you I told you I was not about to leave you alone with this moron!_ ” She replied, snapping her teeth back at him.

Nyx saw the three jump back in fright as she landed and she smirked wolfishly seeing the fear in their eyes.

She scanned the one holding the weapon now towards her, his light gray eyes glaring towards her hidden behind thick black framed glasses; it was clear that he was trying to look tough despite the disheveled hair and dirty clothes, but his trembling hands gave his fear away.

Then her scrutinizing glare turned to the other one, hiding behind Roman and holding tightly on the sleeves of the jumper tied around his shoulder, and to her surprise she noticed he did not look scared in the slightest.

In fact, Patton’s eyes slowly got wider and wider, a small twinkle of excitement shining in his bright blue irises as he gasped looking at Nyx, leaving the drain and everyone around him shocked.

The creature let out a loud growl trying to look threatening but she was so confused it almost sounded like a question.

“Oh my Gosh! She’s so big and cute! Her scales are so pretty! Can I pet her please?” He squealed jumping up and down, a blonde curl falling in front of his glasses.

Silence fell around them as everyone turned around to look at Patton shocked, even Virgil took the risk of peeking around the dragon to shoot a surprised look towards him.

“ _I like him. Can we keep him? Please? He’s way nicer than his Highnass over there._ ” Nyx said, breaking the silence and turning back towards the dragon witch, who was now slowly starting to come out of his hiding spot.

Immediately Logan pointed the knife back towards him, making the guy jump back in fright and Nyx go back to her fighting stance growling.

Roman rolled his eyes, “Logan, put the knife down, he’s the one who saved me.” He said putting a hand on the guy’s wrist and forcing it down. He let him, looking at him confused.

“So he-he is not the one who attacked you?”

The prince shook his head.

“He saved my life, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.”

Virgil started to come out again, stopping only when he was in front of Nyx, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other, looking down embarrassed. He waved slightly with his hand as he felt everyone’s eyes on him.

Suddenly he felt arms wrap around him, making him jump and tense up immediately not knowing what to do. He looked at Nyx, asking for help, but the dragon did nothing but shrug.

“ _Traitor_ ” He hissed through the mind-link.

“Thank you kiddo for helping Roman, even if you didn’t have to.” Patton said softly, hugging him closer.

Virgil gently put his arms around him, trying to awkwardly hug him back, despite not having done anything like that since when he was four.

“Also, ignore Logie, it’s difficult for him to trust new people and he can be a real buzzkill, but he really just means well.”

Virgil nodded. They held each other for a few more seconds before Patton let go, holding the Dragon-witch in front of him with his hands on his shoulders and looking at him with a very serious gaze.

“But now I have to ask you a really important question that could either make me love you or make me slightly angry at you.” He started, his voice low and grave.

Virgil looks around nervously, shifting slightly as he nodded, signaling to the cheery guy that he was listening.

“ _Can_ I pet your dragon?”


	6. 6

**6**

Virgil nodded, making the fatherly looking guy squeal in joy as he jumped towards Nyx who just started wagging her tail bit and nuzzled her head in the guy’s chest, making him giggle in daylight.

The other three men just watched the scene for a few seconds, not really knowing how to act or what to do, before Logan shook his head, waking up from the trance, and directed his gaze towards Roman.

“Sir, we have to return to the palace, you’re not safe here.” He said, his voice serious and monotonous as he shot a quick look towards the dragon-witch whose eyes were jumping to one guy to the other.

“Logan, I’ve already told you a million times to just call me Roman, sir makes me feel like an old man. But I do agree with you.” He nodded crossing his arms on his chest.

There was silence for a few seconds before Virgil sighed taking a step forward.

“Then allow me to escort you to your destination. It’s too dangerous for you to go alone.” He offered, his eyes fixed in Roman’s.

“What? No, absolutely not. Forget it.”

Immediately the Dragon-Witch’s gaze moved from the prince to Logan, his eyebrow raised.

“Aw, why not Logie? He seems really nice plus Nyx is a total sweetheart!” Patton exclaimed making the dragon purr happily before immediately growling when she heard the princely guy murmur a not so quite “Speak for yourself.” Under his breath.

“I don’t trust him. And if we managed just fine without him on our way here, I’m sure will be just fine without him as we get back.”

Virgil scoffed, immediately earning a glare from the smart looking guy.

“Just fine? Dude you have skilled killers looking for you and are in a zone of the forest you’ve never seen before in your whole life probably and think you’ll be ‘just fine’ only because you were able to find us without getting injured? I’m sorry to break it to you, but you guys were just lucky.”

Logan took a step towards him, his eyes dark making Nyx growl warningly as Patton tried to shush them.

“No we weren’t. We know how to get back and if anything happens, Roman is armed and and I know how to fight.”

Virgil took a step forward, standing his ground, a mocking smirk on his lips.

“And you really think you’re going to be able to defend yourself against a guy who took on a whole team of skilled, armed and trained soldiers, and _won_ might I add, with a sword and some punches?” He scoffed, “Give me a break, they would kill you within seconds.”

Logan stayed still, a flash of realization shining in his eyes for a second, before turning back to cold.

“And what use would you be, uh?”

The dragon-witch just raised an eyebrow, as asking if the guy was seriously asking him that.

“Well for starters I’ve spent my whole life in this wood and therefor know them as the back of my hand. Second of all, I know how to cast spells and fight using both a sword and my body. And last but not least,” he pointed behind him, towards Nyx, “I have a huge dragon able to breath fire as my best friend. I think it’s safe to say that I could help.”

There were a few moments of tense silence as the two guys had a stare off, Roman and Patton just anxiously watching the two.

“Fine.” Logan gave up with a frustrated sigh. “You will escort us.”

Before a small victorious smile could spread on Virgil’s lips though, he quickly held up the obsidian knife he was holding in his hand, pointing it right at the guy’s throat and making Nyx growl viciously and the other two guys let out a gasp. Everyone forgot he still had it.

“But just know that if you make one wrong move, you’re dead.” He threatened though gritted teeth.

Virgil nodded, knowing he was not in the position of making any sarcastic remark, sighing when he saw the guy going back to his composed posture and putting the knife in the waistband of his pants.

Roman exhaled loudly, drawing everyone attention as he took a step forward, clapping his hands before putting them on his sides as he looked at every single one of us.

“So, what’s the plan? What do we do now?” He asked, excitement shining in his eyes.

“Well,” Virgil started, elongating the ‘L’ a bit as an amused smirk started to make an appearance on his face, “That depends on how fast you wanna get back to the castle.”

The other three all shot him a confused glance, before finally someone broke the silence.

“What do you mean kiddo?” Patton asked, immediately making the other two look at him for answers.

“Yeah, the faster we get there the better. The subjects are going crazy without knowing if their prince is alive.” Logan added slightly gesturing with his hands.

The dragon-witch brought a hand under his chin, his violet eyes dancing between the three eager to see their reaction to the words he was about to speak.

“Well, if that’s what you want then the most efficient course of action is to let Nyx carry us all there.” He said, making all of them freeze and Nyx growl disapprovingly.

“Uh-uh, there is no way in hell I’m riding that evil creature absolutely not.” Roman said immediately, his voice loud and dramatic and his head shaking as he took a step back.

“I must admit that although that is the fastest way to get there, it also is way too dangerous. After all it is still an animal and therefore can not understand us.” Added Logan.

“ _Excuse me? I am no animal, and if you ever do get to ride me, I’ll be sure to drop both of your asses mid-air.”_ Nyx growled through the mind link, making her owner chuckle.

“She does not like to be called an animal and can very much understand us. But after what you just said I’m not really sure you should ride her.” He said, still smiling.

“Virgil’s right, you don’t deserve to ride her! She’s so sweet and you guys just keep insulting her and treating her badly!” Patton exclaimed as he gently scratched behind her ears making her purr happily.

“ _I’ll say it once and i’ll say it again. I like him the most out of the three, let’s adopt him and leave the other two here to die.”_

Virgil chuckled, shaking his head as he watched his dragon lick the cheery guy’s face making him giggle in daylight.

“ _Sweet?!_ She just _tasted_ you, she probably just wants to eat you when you less expect her to!” Princey exclaimed dramatically, making Nyx growl and roll her eyes and Patton frown at him as he leaned forward and gently slapped him behind the head.

The dragon-witch immediately felt a wave of anger and protectiveness rise up from his stomach, urging him to push Patton away from Roman so that he could protect him from any possible harm.

He swallowed the feeling as he listened to the fatherly guy talk about how Nyx was just thanking him for standing up for her and was not actually tasting him, but he really couldn’t focus on that.

_What is happening to me?_


	7. 7

**7**

The four of them slowly started walking through the vegetation, the dragon-witch leading the way without paying too much attention to the others, too lost in thought. Why did he feel the urge to protect the prince from everything, even a little slap behind the head? He knew the fatherly guy meant no harm and he still wanted to push him away from Roman and protectively stand between the two of them. And even before that he didn’t understand why he felt so attracted to the guy; sure he was really attractive, no one would deny it but it was more as if he felt a deep connection, as if his heart was actually pulling him towards the prince, than a mere physical one.

“ _You okay V?_ ” Nyx asked through the mind link as she flew above them; Patton was still pouting because she couldn’t walk with them and Logan didn’t let him fly with her.

“ _I’m okay, just…confused._ ” He answered, eyebrows furrowed as he kept walking keeping his head down and slightly kicking a rock every once in a while.

“Virgil how long till we stop? We have been walking for hours now and it’s starting to get dark.” Roman said, unknowingly interrupting the conversation the two were having.

The dragon witch stopped, looking around for the first time in a while and noticing that the prince was indeed right.

“We should stop in a place preferably near a body of water, set up a fire and somewhere to sleep.” Logan instructed as he adjusted his glasses and his now slightly messy hair, trying to conceal the way his breath was slightly labored.

“ _Tell the nerd that there’s not a single ‘body of water’ in miles, so unless he wants to walk another ten miles to find the only small river I can see from here, he’ll have to do with what you can find._ ” The dragon commented sassily still not particularly liking the guy because of the way he acted towards her owner and best friend, before adding, “ _Also there’s a small protected clearing just a mile ahead of you and for what I can see that’s probably the best place you guys can go to set up a camp.”_

He chuckled slightly before letting Nyx know he understood and looking towards the other three who were now looking at him with curiosity in their eyes

“Nyx said that unless you want to walk another ten miles there’s no water close by, we’ll just have to use what we have and deal with it. But ahead of us there a small clearing and as far as we know, it’s the only protected area we can go to to sleep. So let’s go.” He said before turning around and starting to walk again but immediately being stopped by Logan.

“Wait, no, what do you mean ‘use what we have’? We don’t have any water left and we have been walking all day! We need water!” He exclaimed frustrated making Virgil roll his eyes and fold his arms.

“Yeah kiddo! I’m thirsty and tired! How can we get water?” Patton asked, slightly making puppy eyes and making Roman nod in agreement, causing the dragon-witch’s features to soften slightly and a small smile to appear on his face.

“Don’t worry, you’ll have water. Let’s get to the clearing first though.” He started to walk without waiting for an answer, slightly rolling his eyes when he heard Logan grumble under his breath.

“Logan stop. I already told you I trust him and I’m sure he knows what he is doing.” Roman shushed him making a small smile appear on the Dragon-witch’s lips.

Virgil quickly shook his head, trying his best to get the fluttery happy feeling in his stomach, that appeared when he heard the prince say he trusted him, to leave him alone, his cheeks reddening slightly. What the hell was happening to him?

Before he could even realize it, they had reached the clearing; he stopped, looking at Nyx who was already there, curled up just before the line of the trees. Just as she had said the space was small and the ground was mostly covered by moss, providing a comfortable surface to lay down on.

“ _I already checked around here and we should be good to settle for the night. I would still cast some protecting spells if I were you though. We don’t know where the assholes might be.”_

The Dragon-Witch nodded letting her know he understood before turning around to inform the others. Before he could even utter a word, Patton ran past him, his arms high in the air and a big smile on his face.

“Nyx! I missed you so much!” He yelled, throwing himself at the dragon making Roman and Logan’s breath itch as they both waited for her to lash out. That obviously didn’t happen and the darkly dressed guy chuckled fondly as he heard the creature purr and wag her tail happily.

“Okay so,” He started, his voice loud so that everyone could hear him. “This is the clearing I was talking about, Nyx has already checked our surrounding to make sure no one was close to where we are so we can start to set up a camp.”

“What about the water?” Logan asked, his left brow arching challengingly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Be patient Calculator watch. I was getting to that.” He said sighing and once again rolling his eyes. He had been doing that too often that day.

“Roman could you please go gather some wood for a fire? And Patton could you help him? We need as much as you guys can carry.” They both nodded, the cheery guy waiving Nyx goodbye with his hand before following the prince slightly into the forest.

“Now, Logan, since you’re so eager to prove that I can not gather water in any way, you will help me with it.”

Virgil turned around and went back to the satchel he abandoned in the middle of the clearing when they reached it. After a bit of digging he took out a couple of empty leather canteens and a small piece of wood.

Now more interested, Logan curiously observed the dragon-witch; the small item was hollow and had one of the two ends shaped into a point and a small indent in the middle while the two water containers looked rudimental and hand-made, with a string attached to both sides.

“What are you doing?” He asked, eyebrows furrowed, as he walked closer to the guy.

“Stop asking questions and follow me.” Virgil didn’t even have to look behind to know that the nerd was following him. His scrutinizing eyes did make him anxious, he had to admit it, but that was something he did thousand of times, that day wouldn’t have been any different.

He went up to a tree he knew would have been perfect for the procedure and stopped in front of it, handing the items to Logan; then, closing his eyes, he pronounced a small spell under his breath pointing his index finger towards the trunk of the tree.

Almost immediately a small ray of light came out of it, piecing straight through the bark, leaving Logan flabbergasted. He knew the guy had powers but if he had to be honest the thing hadn’t sunk in his mind up until he saw them in action.

Calmly, the guy turned around, taking the small wooden object form the still surprised man.

“This,” He said holding it up, “is a spile and it’s what we will use to get water.”

Then turning back around he put it in the small hole that now was in the tree, making sure it was stable. The spire wasn’t parallel to the ground, but at a slight angle, allowing small droplets of water to fall to the ground.

Quickly Logan regained his composure and opening one of the rudimental canteens he hung it using the string and the small indent in the wooden spile.

Virgil smirked as he watched the man’s still surprised though more controlled expression, before muttering another spell to make the water come out faster.

“This… this is just _amazing._ ” Logan whispered making the Dragon-Witch chuckle slightly.

“You should really stop doubting nerd. I’m in this with you whether you like it or not.


	8. 8

**8**

Once Roman and Patton came back with arms full of sticks, Logan helped them put them in a tent shape so that they could light a fire and Virgil started casting spells all around the area, catching the guys attention every once in a while with bright flashes of purple.

“ _Roman’s looking at you.”_ Nyx said looking at him mischievously from where she was curled up. The dragon witch quickly shoot a look towards the other, catching the prince promptly looking away.

 _“I know.”_ He answered turning around as he felt his cheeks heat up.

 _“you’re blushing.”_ She chuckled, making Virgil groan in annoyance and shoot her a glare, just causing her to laugh harder.

_“Shut up!”_

“Virgil? Are you done with the spells or do you need more time?” Came Logan’s voice gaining the dragon witch’s attention.

The guy gave a look around, observing the light purple hue that surroundedthem before deciding that one more protective spell couldn’t hurt.

“Give me a second!” He said, before focusing on his energy one last time and sending out his last magic wave of the evening. The emerald green light from the spell quickly surrounded him before shooting outward to the outscore of the clearing. He chuckled when he heard all three of the humans hold their breath, feeling the energy pass right through them.

Virgil sighed, satisfied with his work, and went to sit beside the others who were still looking at him curiously.

“So, what do we do for the food? If we need to we can go pick some berries or I can see if Nyx can catch some animals for us-” The dragon witch started immediately getting cut off by Patton’s loud gasp at the mention fo killing an animal.

“That won’t be necessary.” Stated Logan, pulling some fruit and some bags of cereal out of his backpack. “I know it’s not much, but this will have to do for tonight.”

They ate in silence before the three humans laid down on the soft moss around the fire and Virgil went to sleep on his dragon’s back, like he usually did, and they all tried to fall asleep.

“ _Nyx?_ ” The dragon witch said through the mind link, keeping his eyes closed and only receiving a groan as an answer.

“ _What is happening to me?_ ” The concern in her owner’s voice immediately made the dragon small ears immediately perk up, but it was the only sign of her being awake.

“ _What do you mean? Is there something wrong?_ ” Virgil chuckled affectionately at the immediate worry in her voice.

“ _No I mean with Roman. I keep getting weird feelings about him, like I can’t stop thinking about him and every time he talks to me my whole body becomes warm and fuzzy, and whenever he touches me my skin feels all tingly! Just being near him makes me feel weirdly safe and at peace with everything! Not to talk about how I feel the urge to protect him from literally everything!_ ”He stopped ranting, waiting for an answer, a reassurance that this was something completely normal, like being touch-starved or something of the sort.

For a few seconds, no answer came, making Virgil’s worry increase. Finally Nyx sighed, breaking the silence.

“ _Ugh, shit._ ” She started, making the dragon witch jump slightly and his eyebrows frown in worry and fear.

“ _What? Why? Is there something wrong?_ ” He rushed out.

“ _I forgot to tell you about soulmates, haven’t I?_ ” The dragon witch stayed silent for a fraction of a second, confused.

“ _Soulmates?_ ”

“ _Yes, Dragon witches have soulmates, someone they’re destined to be with for the rest of their lives, someone they love endlessly and who loves them back the same way.”_

 _“And you_ _forgot_ _to tell me?! How can you forget something like that?!”_ Virgil exclaimed getting frustrated. He really couldn’t believe she would forget about something of such importance.

“ _Bitch you’ve been hiding in this forest for the past 24 years, I thought the chances of you meeting your soulmates were as low as the ones of you being straight.”_

There were another few seconds of silence where both of them just tried to calm down, before Virgil finally broke it again.

“ _So, Roman is my soulmate?_ ” He whispered, a small smile appearing on his face. He liked the thought of them being together, cuddling and kissing. He blushed at the thought.

“ _Since the universe seems to hate me, yes, you are. And I hate it.”_ She answered grumpily, making Virgil laugh.

“ _Oh come on he isn’t that-_ ” He stop abruptly, as both of them heard the sound of someone walking closer to them.

They kept their eyes perfectly closed and stayed still, faking being asleep, and he waited for Nyx to tell him who it was and if they were a threat.

“ _It’s just Logan._ ” She finally informed him, before snickering. “ _This fucker really has the intention of touching me just because he thinks I’m asleep.”_ She chuckled again, a wolfish grin appearing on her face. “ _Look how I make him shit his pants.”_

Virgil’s eyebrows immediately shot up, alarmed.

“ _Nyx I swear to god, don’t you dare do anything.”_ He warned, but he knew there was no way his bitch of a dragon was going to listen.

“ _Oh, I’m gonna do it. Three, two-”_

“I wouldn’t touch her if I were you. Neither of us are a sleep and she is still not very fond of you for the way you treated me earlier today.” The dragon witch’s eyes shot open and immediately went to meet the nerd’s surprised ones.

“ _Ugh, you’re so boring.”_ Nyx grumbled, making smoke come out of her nose and opening her eyes, immediately zeroing on Logan, making him jump back in fright.

“ _And you’re a bitch, to each their own.”_

_“Fuck you.”_


	9. 9

**9**

Logan just laid there, looking at the stars as he waited for the others to fall asleep. Despite the soft moss covering the entirety of the clearing, the ground beneath him still felt cold and uncomfortable, with small rocks and sticks poking him in his back.

His eyes shifted as he looked towards the Dragon Witch. He had so many questions: why was he living in the woods? How long had he been living there? Were there others like him? What kind of powers did he have? What kind of dragon was the one he had? Could it understand him? Was he born like this or did he somehow became it? Could they _actually_ trust him?

He knew he had been very rude for the whole day, but he had to make sure he was not going to hurt them in any way. Even if he did save Roman, he was still a complete stranger, who could very possibly have an ulterior motive to help him. What if he knew the guy he helped was a prince and planned on finding out where his kingdom was just to take over it?

He was just doing his job as the prince prime advisor and he would not apologize for doing it right. Logan sighed gently as not to wake up anyone. Despite the way he acted he was still slightly jealous of the way Patton got to interact with the mythical animal they had the luck to encounter. Meeting a creature like a dragon was not something that happened everyday and the nerdy guy knew very well he would most likely never meet one again when everything came to an end; and he would be damned if he didn’t even try to touch it or at least observe it better.

His eyes went back to the stars, admiring how beautifully bright they were here in the middle of nowhere, where the light of the city were not there to bother them. He decided to wait a bit more before getting up, starting to count all of the constellations he could find to pass the time. He smiled as he realized he could even see the Milky Way from where he was and relaxed back into the moth, letting the already regular breathing of his two friends and the stridulating of the crickets in the forest lull him for a bit.

Before he knew it, an hour past and, sure that everyone was sleeping, he slowly got up, trying not to make a sound, and starts walking towards where the dragon is placidly sleeping with its owner on top. His steps were light and stealthy as he got closer and closer, no one who had a normal hearing would have been able to hear him; unfortunately for him though, the two he was walking towards were anything _but_ normal.

Logan slowly reached his hand out, his mind racing with thoughts and theories of how it would feel to touch the creature’s long neck; would it be soft or hard? Warm or cold? Smooth or rough? Would it feel different form a snake?

“I wouldn’t touch her if I were you. Neither of us are a sleep and she is still not very fond of you for the way you treated me earlier today.”

Virgil’s voice made Logan immediately jump back in surprise, his hand immediately retreating to his chest as he tried to calm his frantic heartbeat. Wide eyed he looked up towards the dragon witch, who was clearly wide awake, before traveling back down towards the dragon. Once again the nerd jumped as he saw the snake like eyes studying him mischievously as black smoke came out of its nostrils.

“Sorry for scaring you nerd, but my friend here isn’t very fond of you at the moment and was planning on making you shit your pants. Thought I would stop her.” The guy said making her grumble again as he elegantly jumped down from the dragon’s back and soundlessly landed on the grass.

“T-thank you, I guess.” Logan replied shakily. There was a moment of silent, where Virgil did nothing but study the uncharacteristically shy behavior the nerdy guy was showing.

“So, what were you trying to do?” He asked slightly tilting his head to the right.

Logan blushed, staring wide eyed at the guy before stuttering out a quick “N-nothing.”

The dragon witch raised an eyebrow, an amused and curios expression taking over his features.

“ _For being someone so smart, you wouldn’t think he’d be such a shitty liar._ ” Nyx commented with a smirk, making it hard for her owner to suppress a chuckle.

“Logan, Nyx sensed that you were going to touch her, there’s no point in lying. Why were you though? You didn’t seem very fond of us before.”

Slowly he sat down with his back against the dragon side, trying to show the now nervous guy in front of him that he wasn’t a threat, and after a few seconds, the guy finally sighed in defeat.

“I-I was just curios about how it would feel to interact with such a beautiful creature. I have never thought I would get to meet a dragon and it will be highly improbable I will ever get to meet another one. I just thought I could get to answer at least some of my questions while you guys were sleeping. I apologize.” He explained, his hand scratching the back of his neck as he looked down in embarrassment, “As for today, I’m sorry if I came off as rude, I was just doing my job and keep my prince and friend safe and I’m not sorry for the way I acted, but I should have made myself clearer.” He concluded, straightening his back and adjusting his glasses, waiting for the dragon witch’s answer.

Virgil studied him for a few seconds, trying to decide if he was being genuine with his apologize and finding no trace of lies.

“ _Bitch, don’t you dare-_ ”

“If you are still up to, you can ask me whatever you want and I can try my best answer. I unfortunately can not say the same about touching Nyx, as she would still probably try to bite your hand off if you tried to touch her-”

“ _Damn right I would._ ” She interrupted, shooting a glare towards the nerdy guy.

“But I am at your disposal.” He concluded, smiling slightly when he saw Logan’s eyes lit up with excitement.

He immediately sat down in front of the dragon witch, trying to organize his thoughts and figure out where to start.

“Are there others like you?” He asked, deciding to start from the basics, his lips turning into an imperceptible frown when he saw the other shaking his head.

“No, not as far as I know. They were all killed in a war that wiped out the entirety of my species, I only survived thanks to Nyx who kept me hidden and helped me escape.” He explained, a small smile grazing his features as he patted the dragon on the back. Logan observed curiously as she purred and turned her neck so that her head was laying in Virgil’s lap, her eyes closed.

“Is that why you have been living in this forest for so long?” He asked, already expecting the nod that came form the guy lazily petting the dragon.

“Are you able to communicate with her?” He dared to send a quick nervous look towards the creature, before returning his eyes to Virgil, who hummed lowly in affirmation.

“We talk through what I would probably define a mind link. She has been my best and only friend in the 28 years I spent living in this woods, reason why she doesn’t really like you for the way you acted.” He replied, smirking as he watched the guy look away in guilt for a second.

“Understandable. What kind of dragon is she? Are there other kinds?” He asked as he let his eyes study the dragon’s shiny purple scales littering her whole body.

Virgil shrugged, looking down at Nyx as a silent conversation went on between them.

“I have no idea. I mean, there probably were more than one kinds in the past neither me nor Nyx have enough memories to give you a satisfying answer.”

Logan hummed in understanding, his eyes dazed over as he was lost in thought. A few seconds passed by before another question left his lips.

“Is spells and communicating with Nyx the only thing you can do or do you have other powers?” Logan asked tilting his head in curiosity. The dragon witch lowered his eyes, not used to someone being so interested in him and his abilities.

“I can also share Nyx’s abilities. Just like our minds, our souls are linked too, making her able to let me see through her eyes and, if needed, share part of her energy to be stronger.” Virgil explained as he scratched her behind the ears, making her purr in delight.

“Since you can share her vision, can she share your voice?” Logan asked, watching as the dragon witch looked at him surprised. “I mean, with you being able to share so much already it only makes sense.”

Without saying anything the dragon witch closed his eyes, trying to concentrate for a couple of seconds, his hands stopping the stroking motion on the dragon. When he opened them back up after a couple of tense moments, Logan was startle by seeing that they were no longer that warm violet color typical of Virgil’s eyes, but were now completely yellow and snake like, resembling exactly Nyx’s.

“ _Sup bitch._ ” The nerd jumped once again as hearing the guy’s voice doubled with a more feminine one, one overlapping the other and creating a weird effect.

“ _So, let’s make things clear if you call me an animal one more time I’ll break your knee caps and-_ ” Before she could finish Virgil started to shake his head, interrupting the mind-link as his eyes went back to normal.

“I’m sorry, she is still really salty about that.” The dragon witch said apologetically scratching the back of his back and adverting his eyes.

“O-oh, uhm, it’s not a p-problem.”

Nyx smirked hearing Logan’s shaky voice and seeing the guy’s already white skin get even paler with fear. She chuckled slightly, stopping only when Virgil flicked her head, hard.

“ _Ouch, what was that for?!_ ”

“ _Would you_ _please_ _stop being a bitch? He was just starting to trust us, now what is he going to think?!_ ”

“ _I couldn’t care less about what he thinks no one calls me an animal._ ”

Logan’s light chuckle made them stop their bickering almost immediately.

“Really it’s no big deal. She is right though, I shouldn’t have called her an animal, I’m sorry.” He said looking at the dragon, who just nodded her head slightly before turning her head the other way still feigning anger.

“Ignore her. She’s just being a drama quee- _ow,_ what the fuck don’t you dare hit me with your tail you know it’s true!”

The dragon just scoffed, making Logan once again chuckle and shrugs slightly, before looking up at the stars and sighing.

“The sky is beautiful tonight. I’ve studied astrology for years and never once was I able to see them so clearly.” He said softly, not noticing Virgil looking at him with wide eyes.

“You studied the stars?” He asked, his voice betraying his admiration.

The nerd looked at him surprised for a second before nodding.

“Can you tell me about them?”

And that’s how they spent the rest of the night, just softly talking, until finally they fell asleep just as the first ray of sunlight started to appear in the horizon; and although she will _always_ deny it, Nyx did shift the position of her body and wings just enough that both her owner and the nerd could be protected by the blinding light of the sun and get a bit more sleep.


	10. 10

**10**

It was only a few hours later that the sun made his appearance, making the prince slowly open his eyes, his beauty sleep interrupted by the sunlight.

With sleep still blurring his vision, he prompt himself up on one elbow, slightly rubbing his eyes and looking around.

“Good morning kiddo! How did you sleep?” Patton whispered as he quietly snacked on an apple.

Roman looked at him for a second, his eyebrow raised.

“Good morning padre, I slept well thank you, but why are you whispering?” He asked, but instead of receiving an answer, the cheery guy just pointed behind him, making him slowly turned around.

The prince’s eyes widened as they landed on Logan and Virgil’s sleeping figures; the nerd was cuddled up next to the dragon-witch, his arm loosely wrapped around him, Nyx’s body circling both of them as she quietly observed him. He could see why Patton would find them cute and want to let them sleep more; what he did _not_ understand though, was why a sudden and extremely strong rush of jealousy ran through his body, making him feel the urge to pull them apart.

Roman took a couple of breaths, trying to calm himself down. He could feel the dragon’s eyes on him, looking at him curiously.

After a few minutes he finally felt calm enough and was about to turn around when his eyes once again landed on the two. In a sporadic and impulsive decision he got up and started stomping towards the two sleeping guys.

“Roman, what are you-?” Patton started, but before he could finish the question, Nyx’s low and threatening growl interrupted him and made Roman freeze in his tracks.

“Roman, I’m not really sure, but I don’t think she wants you to wake them up yet.”

The prince just glared towards the dragon, looking at her right in the eyes. The staring contest went on for a good thirty seconds and the princely guy could tell the creature was studying him carefully to try and figure out his next move, her tail slowly swiping across the ground like a cat’s.

Finally Roman smirked, breaking eye contact to move his gaze to the two sleeping figures.

“LOGAN!” He yelled after taking a big intake of breath making Patton jump and Nyx stare at him in surprise.

The nerd woke up with a startle, immediately sitting up, scaring Virgil in the process.

“What the _hell_ is happening?!” Exclaimed Logan, his breath labored for the scare as his eyes wildly looked around to find the source of the danger.

No one answered and they all watched as Roman stared at Nyx smugly before sticking his tongue out childishly, making her roll her eyes and blow out some smoke from her nose.

“ _You better tell Prince High Pitch over there about the whole soulmate thing today.”_

Hearing this words, Virgil head immediately snapped towards the dragon, his eyes wide as she just looked at him with an unimpressed expression.

“ _What?! N-no I can’t tell him! It’ll scare him away or, even worse, weird him out and make the situation awkward.”_

Nyx scoffed and slightly shook her head.

“ _Weirded out? Awkward? Oh please that’s already happening! Look at him: his poor little brain doesn’t comprehend why he was so jealous when he saw you and Star-Nerd all cute and cuddled up! You have to tell him sooner or later!_ ”

Virgil blushed, his eyes avoiding the dragon’s amused gaze and falling on the prince who was now sitting near what was once a fire, a stick in his hand as he drew on the soil, a confused and thoughtful expression on his face.

He knew Nyx was right. He _had_ to tell him. Roman had the right to know why he was feeling the way he was. But he himself still couldn’t wrap his head around the idea of having a soulmate, so how was he supposed to explain it to someone else?

He shook his head, letting out a mumbled “ _fine”_ through the mind link before tuning in on a grumbling Logan.

“Was it really necessary to take me up like that to tell me we had to eat breakfast and get back to walking?” He grumbled glaring towards the prince who just shrugged carelessly and went on with his soil doodling.

Virgil got up and stretched his back, letting out a small groan at his bones popping, before leaning back on Nyx, letting out a sigh as the creature’s warm scales came in contact with his back.

“Good Morning, kiddo! Would you like an apple?” Patton said cheerily, handing him a fruit as soon as he nodded. He then turned towards Logan, offering one to him as well. The nerd smiled gratefully, starting to munch on it calmly as he tried to wake himself up completely.

“Okay,” Started Virgil, pushing away from his dragon’s back and throwing her the half eaten apple, which she effortlessly caught and immediately swallowed. “If we want to get some progress towards the kingdom we should start walking. Considering the fact that we have to avoid all the main paths to decrease the possibilities of running into the assholes that attacked Roman, it will take us at least two more days to get there. So we better get going.”

They all nodded and packed everything up. After spending a good five minutes trying to convince Patton that he could not ride Nyx, they resumed walking, the chirping of birds and the cheery guy’s squealing while riding the dragon.

They chuckled as Logan rolled his eyes at the thousandth time they heard Patton yell “This the best day of my life!” At the top of his lungs.

“This is so dangerous, he could fall at any given time, all it takes is a slightly stronger gust of wind and he is doomed.” The nerd grumbled, making Virgil scoff.

“Lo, I already told you that Nyx assured me she would not let anything happen to Pat. Can’t you trust her?”

Logan didn’t say anything, but still nodded as they kept walking in a comfortable silence.

After a few minutes, Roman gathered enough courage to walk up to the dragon-witch, leaving the nerd slightly behind and falling into step with him.

“I’m sorry for scaring you awake this morning.” He said sheepishly, making Virgil shoot him an amused grin.

“Nah. Don’t worry about it, it’s not like it’s the first time I woke up like that. You know, the occasional curious squirrels are unstoppable and fearless.”

Roman chuckled, feeling slightly less guilty.

“You know, it wasn’t my original plan to wake you up like that. I wanted to just shake your shoulder but as soon as I tried to get closer the Giant Lizard growled and threatened to take my hand off.” The prince said rolling his eyes.

“ _That son of a- Does he know I can metaphorically and physically roast him?! I’m sorry Virgil but I’m about to turn your soulmate into a meat skewer.”_

“You should really stop calling her that Princey, or I won’t be able to stop her from burning your ass to ashes.” He laughed watching the guy pale and widen his eyes, wearingly shooting a look towards the sky.

“Plus she probably just wanted Logan and I to sleep in a little since we stayed up all night talking.”

That caught Roman attention, who turned to him with a curios glint in his eyes, his head slightly tilted to the side.

“About what?”

Virgil smiled, remembering the long conversation from the previous night.

“A bit of everything. He wanted to know what kind of powers I had, I wanted to talk about the stars. We even found out a new skill I have.”

“Really?” He asked smiling slightly.

Virgil nodded smirking.

“I can let Nyx use my voice to talk to people. Wanna try?”

Roman eyes once again widened, as Virgil shot the dragon’s a message through the mind link, telling her to get ready to use his voice.

“N-no, she clearly hates me, I don’t thing it’s-”

“ _Bitch, I don’t hate you. You’re just annoying as hell._ ” The prince jumped, almost falling to the ground, when he heard Virgil’s voice overlapped by a feminine one and saw his eyes morph in Nyx’s snake like eyes.

“ _I mean, I would totally burn your ass off if it wasn’t for the fact that you’re Virgil’s future hus-_ ” Immediately Virgil eyes went back to normal, his cheeks a deep crimson red as he avoided Roman confused eyes.

“W-What is she talking about?” He asked curiously.

An awkward and tense silence filled the space between them as the dragon witch did his best to look anywhere but the prince.

“ _Nyx I’m gonna fucking murder you know that right?”_ The dragon did nothing but chuckle and close off the mind link.

He sighed defeated, about to answer Roman question, when Logan’s loud voice broke the silence.

“VIRGIL, ROMAN GET DOWN!”


	11. 11

**11**

Virgil felt Roman’s arm wrap around his shoulders as the prince dived into the ground, both of them barely missing an arrow being shoot towards them. The dragon witch stared at the weapon wide eyed, before turning around, vines of purple light already dancing on his arms and hands, ready to attack.

He heard the prince immediately got up and unsheathe his sword as he walked towards where Logan was struggling against four darkly dressed men, the small obsidian dagger slashing through the air as he tried to hit the targets; One of Virgil’s purple rays left his hand as he lifted his arm and pointed it towards one of the offenders, immediately knocking him out.

“ _Nyx we’re getting attacked.”_ He sent through the mind-link as he got up and ran to help the other two; “ _Do not come down until I tell you to.”_

“ _Don’t come down?! The fuck do you mean don’t come down, you’re gonna get yourself killed!”_

The dragon witch huffed frustrated as he caused another spell to ward off yet another man. He didn’t know how many there were but they kept coming out of the vegetation. He could see out of the corner of his eyes the prince and his prime advisor fighting back to back, but he could tell their movements started to become slower as the tiredness set in.

“ _Nyx do as I say. You have Patton with you, keep him safe. When I’ll tell you to, dive down and pick up Logan and Roman, I’ll keep them distracted.”_

Just as he closed off the link, another man came out of the shadows of the wood. He was tall and slim, his black hair slightly longer than on average fell messily on his forehead, barely covering his ice blue eyes that were staring right at Virgil.

“Well, well, well.” He started, his voice low and pleased. “Looks like I finally find you, dragon-witch.”

Before he could even realize what the stranger had said, the man took out a sword and started running towards him, the black blade made out of obsidian shining in the sunlight

Virgil managed to get out of the way as they started to fight, purple light hitting the dark mineral just to bounce off of it.

“Where’s your dragon, Monster?” The man spat out, making Virgil growl as another ray of light left his hand, hitting the hunter on the shoulder and making him stumble back slightly.

The dragon-witch allowed himself a small smile as he watched the other hold the wound, not noticing the small black dagger the man had taken out until it was already flying toward him.

His eyes widened as he jumpier to the side, trying to dodge the attack, but this time he wasn’t fast enough. He felt the sharp blade cutting through his skin of his side, leaving a deep cut just below his ribs.

He hissed in pain, his hand immediately going to cover his wound as the hunter stepped forward taking out yet another knife and kneeing him in the gut and making him double over.

Searing pain shot through him as he felt the stranger kicking and punching him, the weapon slashing through the air, managing to inflict more than one cut on the dragon witch; a sickening crack filled the air as the man manage to break one of his ribs.

Virgil fell over, a small whimper leaving his lips, his energy weakened by the now numerous cut covering his body.

“What a pity.” The stranger clicked his tongue with a sigh as he stared down at Virgil, a smug smile on his lips. “Your spices used to be so powerful. Now look at you. What a pathetic heritage.”

The dragon-witch glared at him before spitting on his shoes. He watched as the smugness left the man’s face, subsided by rage as he lifted the knife.

Just as the weapon started to make its way down towards him though, a roar filled the air and Nyx appeared from above the clouds, gliding towards the ground.

The hunter immediately turned around, eyes wide and skin pale, watching as the dragon landed right in the center of the clearing, he tail swinging right and left, hitting the hunter’s man one after the other, her teeth snapping as she grabbed the offenders in her mouth and tossing them against trees.

When she was done with them, her eyes finally zeroed on the petrified stranger, a loud, threatening growl leaving her as smoke started to come out of her mouth.

The dragon-witch could see Patton behind her helping a bruised Roman get on her back, a tired Logan already holding on to the cheery guy’s shoulders. As soon at the prince’s feet left the ground, a bright purple flame left Nyx’s mouth, among right for the hunter.

The man dived to the ground, barely avoiding the heat of the fire, before quickly scattering to his feet and running into the vegetation, with the dragon following him till the edge of the clearing.

“ _Yeah, that’s what I thought, bitch. You better run.”_ Nyx’s voice sounded through the mind-link making Virgil chuckle slightly before doubling over with a grunt of pain.

The dragon turned towards him, her eyes stern although concerned.

“ _How many times do I have to save your ass before you understand we are a team, uh? You’re gonna get both of us killed one of these days and I ain’t okay with that bitch._ ”

Virgil smiled as he slowly got up from where he was, concealing a small hiss of pain.

“ _I’m sorry Nyx. I just didn’t want anyone to get hurt.”_ He sighed climbed on her back trying not to wince.

“ _Yeah, well, you got yourself hurt and me worried sick for you, you dumbfuck.”_

The dragon-witch ignored her, looking at the other three instead, trying to decide if they had any major wounds.

“You guys okay? Are you hurt in any way?” He asked settling in front of a worried looking Roman.

“Yes I think none of us has anything more than a few bruises and scratches.” Logan stated, inspecting his body as if to confirm what he just said.

“Are _you_ okay tough? That guy didn’t go easy on you and all his weapon were made out of obsidian.”

Virgil turned towards the prince, studying him for a few seconds: his hair were all over the place and he had a small cut on his cheek, his lips was split and slightly bleeding, his white uniform covered in dirt and new blood stains.

The dragon witch offered him a small smile when he saw the concern in his eyes.

“I’m okay.” He assured, immediately hearing Nyx in his head.

“ _Bullshit.”_ She said, before forcing her way though the link and getting a hold of his voice.

“ _He’s lying. He’s bleeding, I can smell his blood from here. He needs rest and medications. But first we have to find a safe place to sleep._ ” She closed the link off, leaving an embarrassed and mortified Virgil to squirm under the three concerned and surprised gazes of his companions.

“It’s really not that bad, I swear.” He tried reassuring, but he could already see Logan and Roman’s expression becoming even more worried as they took in his blood stained clothes they hadn’t previously noticed, and Patton’s eyes filling with tears.

“Why wouldn’t you tell us you were hurt?” He whimpered, making guilt immediately fill the dragon-witches gut as he tried to avoid eye-contact.

“ _You’re a fucking traitor, you know that right?_ ” He hissed through the mind-link.

“ _You almost got us killed. You deserved it.”_ She answered, not skipping a beat.

Virgil just rolled his eyes huffing.

“Whatever. Let’s get out of here before they come back.”

And with that they were off.


	12. 12

**12**

They flew for hours in tired and shocked silence Virgil didn’t know who that man was, or how he knew of his existence. He kept trying to remember if recently he did something that could have alerted the hunters, but nothing came to mind.

He sighed in frustration, almost immediately regretting it as the wounds in his abdomen caused him a stabbing pain, making him groan slightly.

“You okay?” Patton immediately asked, eyeing him worriedly.

Virgil nodded weakly.

“Yeah, my chest just hurts a little.”

“ _Well that’s what happens when you act like a moron and don’t let your dragon help you, bitch!_ ” Nyx immediately butted in making the dragon-witch roll his eyes.

“ _Okay, okay I get it. Telling you to stay away was a stupid mistake. You were right. Happy?”_

“ _Very._ ” Confirmed the dragon with smugness in her voice, to which the guy just rolled his eyes again.

“ _Giant Lizard_ ” He mumbled just to rile her up, chuckling at the offered noises she let out through the mind link and barely avoiding her tail coming to slightly hit him over the head.

“Virgil? Where are we going precisely?” Logan intervened, stopping the slight banter between the two and making the dragon witch’s smile fade slightly as he came back to the reality of the situation.

“East, as far away from where we were as we can manage in one evening. It’ll probably add a couple of days to our journey towards the Kingdom, but we can’t risk another run in, not in the conditions we are now.”

The others only nodded as they resumed the quiet flight.

“ _I can see a small clearing ahead of us, we can stop there. The trees provide more protection than the one from yesterday and as far as I can see there’s no one around._ ” Nyx informed Virgil after a couple of seconds, making him sigh in relief. He felt like he could pass out at any moment and every single part of his body hurt like hell.

“ _Perfect. Go down so we can settle for the night._ ”

“ _You got it boss.”_

And with that, the dragon started gliding towards the ground immediately causing Roman and Logan’s breath to itch.

“W-What’s happening?!” The prince immediately exclaimed, making the dragon witch laugh slightly.

“Don’t be so overdramatic Princey. We’re just landing for the night, Nyx managed to find a small clearing perfect for us to settle in.”

As soon as they landed Roman and Logan immediately jumped down, stumbling a little due to not being used to flying, while Patton helped Virgil slowly get to the ground, apologizing every time the dragon witch flinched or hissed in pain.

“What are you doing?” The prince prime advisor asked as he was he watched the dragon witch leaving the cherry guy’s side and walking towards the edge of the clearing.

“I have to cast some protection spells, or we’ll be too exposed for the night.”

“What?!” Roman exclaimed immediately, taking a step forward. “Are you crazy? You’re hurt, you’re just going to worsen your situation!”

“Princey, we’re all way too tired to stay up to stand the guard and I refuse to risk another ambush.” He said not even turning around to look at the guy.

“ _Nyx come help me please. I’m so weak to do it alone._ ”

The dragon was immediately to his side, looking at him worriedly.

“ _Virgil are you sure? As much as I hate to admit it Prince Chicken over there is right, you are hurt…”_

_“I don’t care. If they find us again and we’re not ready, we’re dead Nyx. I can’t risk that.”_

He didn’t have to say anything else as the dragon let him put a hand on her head. They both focused as best as they could, eyes closed, as the dragon witched mumbled out a few words, using what was left of his energies to cast some basic protection spells, slowly moving all around the clearing.

It only took a few minutes for Virgil to get to the point where he started, swaying slightly on his feet.

“Virgil? Are you okay?” Logan asked, taking a step forward as the dragon witch turned around with a dazed look on his face.

The guy only managed to mumble a small ‘yes’ before passing out making the other three gasp. He would have fallen face first if it wasn’t for the dragon’s quick reflexes in catching him with her neck and gently laying him on the grass.

Seeing the three guys run over right away, Nyx immediately growl, making Patton and Logan stop dead in their tracks, eyes wide and lips parted in surprise. Only Roman didn’t didn’t even flinch at the threatening sound as he still took long strides towards the passed out dragon-witch.

“Oh, shut up Randall Boggs! This is not the timeto be a sassy bitch and you know it.” He said, not even sparing a glance at the dragon who was just staring at him in pure and utter shock.

She didn’t move as the prince knelt down besides her, taking Virgil’s head into his lap and stroking his hair gently.

“Well? What the hell are you waiting for Logan? Get over here!”

The nerd immediately got up, shaking the surprise off of him, already taking out of his bag what he needed to help Virgil, Patton right behind him.

They all flinched as Logan gently lift up the dragon witch’s shirt, seeing all of the bruises and cuts littering the man’s torso.

The serious guy didn’t say anything as he just started to gently put pressure in certain points, checking for broken ribs and bandaging where necessary; Roman just kept running his hands through Virgil’s hair, trying to provide comfort to the passed out man and Patton was gently stroking Nyx’s scales.

It was almost midnight when Logan finally finished medicating the man, letting out a relived and tired sigh. After checking one last time that everything was okay they bid each other good night and everyone went to sleep, no one noticing the eyes studying them through the thick foliage of the forest.


	13. 13

**13**

It was only a couple of hours later that Virgil finally woke up, his body still sore as his hands gingerly skimmed over the bandages wrapped around his torso.

“ _What the hell has happened?_ ” Virgil groaned, slowly sitting up and looking around at his three sleeping friends. They were all laying near his dragon, trying to stay warm; Roman was the closest to him, his arm reaching out where just seconds ago was the dragon witch’s hand was.

He looked at the prince’s sleeping form for a few moments, studying his slightly uneasy expression and noticing how the fingers of his reached out hand slightly twitched, as if trying to grab something that wasn’t there.

“ _You passed out from exhaustion you big dumbass. I told you you were hurt, but did you listen to me? No obviously!”_ Nyx ranted, interrupting Virgil’s thoughts and making him roll his eyes.

_“I knew I was Nyx, but as I have already told you we couldn’t risk being found again! I don’t even know how that asshole of a hunter found me in the first place.”_

_“Yeah, yeah whatever.”_ She dismissed him as she always did whenever she knew he was right.

They stayed silent for a few seconds after that, both lost in their thoughts as they listened to the other’s quiet snores, before the dragon broke it again.

“ _Hey, you know who the hell is Randall Boggs?_ ”

Virgil just looked at her with his eyebrow raised at the completely random question.

“ _Who?”_

Nyx just stared at him for a few seconds. “ _You know what? Never-_ ”

A rustling of leaves from behind them made them both jump and turn towards the source of the sound.

“ _There’s someone there.”_ The dragon whispered through the mind link. “ _And they are watching us.”_

Slowly from the edge of the clearing, a man walked out of the trees, taking slow and cautious steps towards them with a bow and arrow in hand pointed right in their direction. He was tall and thin, his body looked lithe more than muscly, and the steps he took were essentially soundless. His black hair were pointing in every direction, falling slightly on his face and his eyes, narrowed into threatenings slits and with dark circles around them, looked just as green as the leaves.

“Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my territory?” He asked in a low voice, stopping a few feet away from them.

Virgil tried to subtly send a look towards Nyx and focus enough to tell her to do something to wake the others, but the stranger was apparently more observant than he thought.

“Don’t even think about it. I’m not alone and all it takes is a small signal their way for them to kill you.” He warned, glaring at them. “I’ll ask you one last time. Who. The fuck. Are you?”

“I-I’m Virgil.” The dragon witch answered, raising his hands to show he wasn’t a threat, “And this is Nyx, my dragon. I’m here with my friends because I was trying to take them back to their kingdom but got caught in an ambush. We mean no harm. We’re just resting for the night and tomorrow start walking again.”

The guy didn’t say anything for a few seconds, just staring at him suspicious.

“That dragon is yours?” He asked after a while, gesturing towards her with his head.

Virgil just nodded, arms still raised as with his foot tried to gently kick Roman awake without the stranger noticing.

“Prove it.” There was some kind of challenging tone in his voice, which made the dragon-witch raise an eyebrow and Nyx immediately growl.

What neither of them expected though, was for a different growl to answer her, making the both of them jump as a big black panther jumped in front of the man, showing its teeth and snapping her jaws.

Patton, Logan and Roman immediately jumped awake at the loud roaring, quickly backing up closer to the dragon as sleep still clouded their visions.

“What the hell is happening?!” The prince mumbled, before finally noticing the stranger and fumbling to get to his sword.

“Princey, don’t.” Virgil warned immediately, “we’re in their territory, they have the right to be mad. Also he’s not alone and we don’t know how many they are.”

“Why didn’t your protection spells work?” There was a small shaking in the nerd’s, his eyes not leaving the panther who was still staring at them, tail going left and right angrily.

“Because I made them to only ward off humans.”

“Well?” The stranger interrupted them getting impatient andstretching the bow’s string further.”I told you to prove that that is your dragon. I don’t have all night bitch.”

“ _How dare he?!”_

Virgil ignored the dragon’s offended remark and closed his eyes for a second, trying his best to focus despite the fact that he still didn’t recover from the earlier battle. When he opened back up, they were glowing purple, a soft lilac aura surrounding his body. Slowly he reached for the edge of his shirt, gently pulling it away to show a mark on his collarbone shining in the same color of his eyes. It was the drawing of a small identical to Nyx with a small “N” right next to it.

The stranger lowered the weapon, staring at the dragon witch almost in awe.

“That’s impossible…” He whispered, eyes wide. Even the Panther stopped growling to look back at who Virgil assumed was its owner.

“Can you tell us who you are now kiddo?” Patton asked hesitantly, slightly flinching when the guy’s eyes zeroed on him. Only then the dragon witch noticed they were just like the ones a cat would have: completely green with a long, black, vertical pupil at the center of them.

“This is my daimon, Kiera,” he said putting a hand on the animals head, causing her to purr happily. “ and I’m Remy Trevino, alpha of the daimon pack.”


	14. 14

**14**

Everyone stilled, looking at Remy wide eyed as an amused smile played on his lips.

“Guys you can come out!” He yelled, making the others jump and immediately turn around at the sound of people coming out of the trees.

“How many times have we discussed this, we are _not_ a pack!” One of the guys grumbled as he dusted himself off, stopping in front of the supposed alpha with his arms crossed.

He was tall and slim, dressed in all black and with what looked like a cloak wrapped around his shoulders.

“Oh come on bitch! It was to add a little spice, like a catchphrase or something! I mean did you see their faces when I said it? _Hi-larious_!” Remy said sassily, making the man roll his eyes with an exasperated sigh.

“You are incorrigible, Jeremy.”

Roman’s eyes widened when he noticed a small, yellow head come out from under the man’s cloak, looking around before slithering to the ground and coming towards them.

The prince tried his best to get the others attention as he watched the snake change his path slightly and pointing towards Patton, but they were all too intent in listening in to the other two conversation.

“Oh, come on Janus you have to admit it was funny!"

The animal only comes to a stop once he finds itself in front of the cheery guy, raising his long yellow body so that he could be at his eye-level. The guy just stood still, looking at the daimon in awe, his eyes getting even wider and his smile getting bigger what it flicked his tongue out at him. Slowly, he reached out a hand to pet it, as the snake got slightly closer, almost hesitantly.

It was only then that Roman was finally able to find his voice and break out of the shocked trace he was in.

“Patton, no!” He yelled throwing himself between the snake and his friend, making the animal flinch and immediately hiss at him.

At the sound of his daimon hissing, Janus’ head snapped towards him, wide eyed, before glaring almost right away when he spotted the prince reaching for his sword.

“Hey! Leave Diego alone! He didn’t do anything wrong!” He exclaimed as he rushed to get to him, gently taking him into his arms.

“Didn’t do anything wrong?! That snake was about to attack Patton!”

“Diego does not attack anyone. He is no way aggressive.” The man gently petted the snakes head before shooting the cheery guy a concerned look as if wanting confirmation on what he was saying.

“He is right kiddo! The sna- er, Diego, was not about to attack me! I just wanted to pet him!” He tried to reassure the prince, putting a hand on his shoulders and gently pushing him away.

“ _Guess the Chicken Prince really didn’t learn shit from what happened with us, uh?_ ” Nyx said through the mind-link, making Virgil chuckle as she tried to diffuse the tension.

“Okay bitches, let’s all calm the fuck down now. Janus stop sending murderous looks to the pretty prince, he’s human and probably didn’t know.” Remy said almost letting himself fall to the ground near the fire and next to Roman, his hand gently petting Kiera’s fur.

Virgil could feel jealousy rise up inside him, his fist clenching tightly trying to calm himself down as Nyx growled quietly hearing the nickname the guy gave to their soulmate and seeing the flirtatious looks he was sending his way. The prince blushed slightly, looking away to avoid the guy’s eyes only serving to increase Virgil’s jealousy.

Remy didn’t seem to notice though as he just furrowed his eyebrows and looked around confused.

“Wait a second where is-” He started but he never got to finish the question, getting interrupted instead by a loud “BOO!” And Logan screaming at the top of his lungs.

Everyone quickly turned around, just to see that the prince’s prime advisor had fallen to the ground, glasses askew, and was staring up at a man hanging upside-down from a tree who was laughing like a mad man.

“Found him!” Remy sighed, laughing slightly.

“Remus, get down from the tree and stop trying to give people a heart-attack.”Janus’ voice sounded tired, as if that was something that happened way too often, as he massaged the bridge of his nose.

“You’re no fun Nagini!”

Logan got up and quickly took a step back as the new person jumped down from the branch, a big opossum following right after him and quickly running towards the nerd.

The prime advisor let out a small screech as the animal climbed on him, settling on his shoulder and nuzzling his neck, its tail gently wrapping around his shoulders.

“Brando and me like this one.” He said giggling as he examined a wide eyed and blushing Logan.

“I-it’s Brando and I.” He stuttered, leaving everyone surprised and making Remus’ head tilt slightly in curiosity.

“You should have said ‘Brando and I’ not ‘Brando and me’, that is grammatically incorrect.” He explained making both Roman and Nyx roll their eyes.

“Oh, he is smart too!” Was the only thing that the weird man said before hugging the nerd tightly, making him tense slightly as he just laughed.

They all just stared at the two for a few more seconds, before Virgil finally decided to break the silence.

“So, Remy. You mentioned Kiera was your daimon.” He started, catching everyone attention. The guy nodded, waiting for the dragon witch to continue. “What does that mean?”

“you really don’t know?” He answered with an eyebrow raised, sighing and rolling his eyes slightly when he saw Virgil shake his head.

“Daimons are spirits tied to a human soul with the goal to make them stronger and protect them. The daimon could choose any animal, and can’t be separated from their human with whom they usually share some kind of physical aspect.” He explained gesturing towards his eyes, and the other two. It was only then that the dragon witch noticed that half of Janus’ face was completely covered in pale green scales and one of his eyes was yellow and snake like. “And you, my friend, are the last of the strongest, rarest and most evolved types of daimon there are. Even though yours and your dragon’s souls are tied, in fact, you can stay away from each other for longer periods of time, and her soul’s presence doesn’t affect your physical aspect in the slightest.”

Virgil just stared at the man for a few seconds, eyes wide and lips slightly parted. He was not the only one. All his life he thought he was completely alone. But here he was, sitting around a fire with three other people who were exactly like him. He could feel his breath starting to become shallower as his mind tried to process all the overwhelming informations.

“ _Hey deep breaths Virgie. You still have broken ribs and a panic attack wouldn’t help._ ” Nyx’s voice said in his head, making him snap out of his anxious thoughts and aware of the pain in his chest. He smiled slightly towards his dragon; he didn’t know when she put her head in his lap, but he was glad he did as he gently pet her.

After taking a couple of deep breaths and calming down a bit he could feel what once was confusion transform into frustration.

“You mean to tell me that for the last _24 years_ I lived alone in this forest thinking I was the only one when I could have been with you guys all along?! Where the hell have you been?”

He glared as he watched Remy roll his eyes.

“On a cruise in the Bahamas.” He answered, his expression completely serious for a split second before breaking out into a mocking grin. “We were hiding bitch ,what did you think we were doing? Drinking a cosmopolitan on a warm exotic island?!” He laughed, leaning back on his hands and looking around, completely ignoring Virgil’s annoyed looks.

“ _I don’t like him._ ” Nyx growled pushing slightly against Virgil as he just kept petting her, laughing slightly.

“ _He sounds just like you._ ”

“ _Bitch no he doesn’t!_ ” She responded immediately, lifting her head slightly to shoot the dragon witch an offended glare as he just stared at her with an eyebrow raised and a small smirk. There were a few seconds of silence where they just stared at each other, before the dragon just rolled her eyes, realizing what she said.

“ _I hate you._ ” She scoffed, putting her head back down and making him giggle.

It didn’t take long though for the smile to disappear as he heard the conversation happening right behind him.

“So what’s up cutie?” Remy said, leaning slightly towards a blushing prince, making Virgil frown as jealousy bubbled in his stomach. “How are you liking the woods? Found any damsel in distress in need of saving?”

The dragon witch clenched his fists and felt his jaw tense as he watched his soulmate blush a deep red. He could hear Nyx starting to growl too at the sight of the panther rubbing against the prince.

“Because I would gladly play the role if you didn’t.”

Remy leaned in even further, shooting Roman a flirtatious smile that was quickly cut short by Nyx growling loudly and pushing Kiera and her owner away, laying her head in the princes lap and flashing her teeth with a glare.

“ _Keep your cat under control, bitch._” She growled taking control of Virgil’s voice without any warning, making Remy’s eyes widen and his skin pale slightly as he took a couple of steps back, his hands up in surrender. Even his panther didn’t dare growl in response of the dragon and instead just hid behind her owner.

“Oh.” He said almost in a breath, as he slowly relaxed his shoulder seeing as the dragon didn’t attack. “I see. Well, babe you got lucky, your soulmate is hot as fuck. And a prince nonetheless.” He chuckled nervously.

Roman’s head immediately snapped towards a now paled and wide eyed Virgil, a shocked and confused look on his face.

“S-Soulmates?”


	15. 15

**15**

“S-soulmates?” Roman stuttered out, his eyes bouncing between Remy and Virgil.

“Yeah bitch, what else could it be?” The guy scoffed scratching the back of his panther’s ear and slightly leaning back, smirking as he stared at the surprised and pale prince. Only then the situation seemed to click for him, making him gasp slightly and quickly sit up.

“Wait, you didn’t know? Oh, oh this is gonna be good!” He scoffed leaning back and completely ignoring Nyx’s growl.

“Virgil? What is he talking about?” Roman asked, his voice more stern as he stared at him.

The dragon witch avoided his eyes trying not to panic. He could see the others stopping what they were doing, giving them their complete attention, curios of what was happening.

He could feel his breathing starting to get more and more shallow, words getting stuck in his throat as he felt all eyes on him.

“What are you talking about?” Roman asked again after not receiving an answer, this time turning towards Remy.

The guy sighed, leaning back on his hands before responding: “I’m talking about the fact that you two are destined to be together. Your souls are each other’s missing pieces, two parts of a whole, if you will. Most of the times people like us know right away when we meet our soulmate.”

“Yeah!” Remus jumped in, a sparkle of excitement in his green eyes, “For example smarty pants over here is mine!” He exclaimed, hugging Logan tightly and plastering a wet kiss on his cheek, watching with a big smile as the nerd blushed a deep red, turning towards him with big, wide, surprised eyes.

“I-I am?” He asked making the rat man nod happily.

“Well, in that case, I’m willing to ‘give it a shot’, as you guys would say. I do find you...” he stopped for a second as he observed his soulmate inspect his opossum’s fur and take out what looked like a bug, eating it immediately. “Very interesting.” He concluded, slightly tilting his head to the right and narrowing his eyes in curiosity.

“So you knew? You knew we were soulmates?” Roman asked immediately bringing the attention back to what was happening, his voice assuming an accusatory tone, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

When he saw Virgil just nodding slowly, avoiding his eyes, his expression did nothing but darken even more.

“And you didn’t tell me _anything?!_ ”

Hearing the prince starting to raise his voice, Nyx immediately went behind the dragon witchslightly surrounding him with her body, as she glared and showed her teeth as a warning to the royal persona.

“I-I only f-found out a c-couple if d-days ago.”

Roman just stared at him in shock for a few seconds before letting out a small incredulous laugh, shaking his head and starting to walk back and forth.

“You knew and you didn’t tell me. You knew the way I was feeling was all because of this and you did not tell me! It was my right to know what was happening!” He exclaimed stopping and sharply turning towards the dragon witch, making Virgil flinch slightly and Nyx growl once again.

“Roman, please, I-I only found out two d-days ago. I-I tried to tell you but we g-got attacked and-” He tried to explain, the panic raising inside of him making him stutter, but almost immediately got interrupted by the prince.

“I don’t care Virgil! You should have told me! Also, how is something like that even possible? We’ve known each other for like what? A week? And we’re supposed to be together forever now? Why? Because some magical spell was thrown at us by god knows who and now we’re ‘ _soulmates_ ’?” He stopped, for a second, sighing heavily and looking away. For some reason he couldn’t bare to see the look of hurt and slight fear in the other’s eyes, no matter how angry he was. And that only made him more frustrated. “I’m sorry but that’s just... impossible. I’m sorry Virgil but this is not what I want.”

He turned around, about to walk away before hearing the dragon witch’s weak voice coming from behind him.

“W-wait what do you mean?” He asked. The prince didn’t even turn around before answering.

“I don’t want to be your soulmate.” His voice was void of any emotions as he said that, but as he walked towards the other side of the small clearing, the others he passed by could clearly see the frustration and hurt in his eyes.

At those words Virgil could feel his heart break, watching the royal walk away from him with firm steps, only stopping once he reached the end of the clearing.

There were a few seconds of silence as everyone stared at the two with sympathy, not knowing what to say. Even Remy, despite his seemingly careless behavior, shoot the dragon witch an apologetic look. But Virgil just ignored him as he quickly turned around and walked to the opposite edge of the clearing, trying to swallow back his tears.

“ _If it wasn’t for the fact that it would only hurt you more I would kill that motherfucker right this moment! Who the hell does he think he is?!_ ” Nyx exclaimed through the mind link, her voice filled with anger and hurt as she wrapped her body around the dragon witch, putting her head in his lap trying to offer him comfort as best as she could.

He didn’t answer though, he just laid his head on top of hers, hugging her neck tightly as he cried himself to sleep.


	16. 16

**16**

“Logan! Look at the sky!” Remus exclaimed pointing his arm towards it, making his boyfriend open his eyes; they were laying in the grass next to each other, looking up at the sky. “It looks like someone tried to use an almost empty bottle of mayo and squirted it all over a black canvas! Isn’t it beautiful?”

Roman stared at them, slightly weirded out by the weird guy’s comment, and even more by the way his nerdy friend just nodded, looking at him with love filled eyes.

Logan had never been someone particularly romantic, or emotional for that matter; but as much as he tried to hide it, the prince knew that even he wanted to experience real love. That’s why he was so surprised when he saw him give in so easily to the idea of being someone’s soulmate; it was such an illogical thing to do for someone as down to earth as he was.

The prince huffed turning back around and letting his gaze get lost in the dark woods. He felt like shit for the way he treated Virgil, but he did not regret it. As much as he had always dreamed to find his so called “soulmate”, that was not what he wanted. He wanted real love. Not this.

On the other side of the clearing, the dragon witch slowly opened his eyes, groaning softly at the headache his crying session left him with.

“ _Are you feeling how you look? Because if so I’m sorry, you look like shit._ ” Nyx said jokingly through the mind link, her lips contorting in some kind of gentle smirk as she tried to lighten the situation.

Her smile quickly fell though when she saw Virgil just nod slightly, his eyes avoiding hers. Lifting her head from his lap, the dragon softly licked the dragon witch’s cheek, pushing her snout against it afterwards.

“ _Hey. Don’t let the Royal Dick get to you. He’s not worth it. As I told you when we met him, you can live without him. You don’t need no man._ ”

The chuckled sadly at that, leaning back against his best friend’s warm body, still not saying anything and looking up at the sky.

After a few minutes Patton’s small laugh draw his attention, making him peak from behind Nyx to see the reason of his laughter; the cheery guy was giggling as Diego, Janus’ daimon, was gently snuggling his neck, tickling him gently every time his tongue flicked out. With a big smile on his face, the small guy raised his hand, running it over the snake’s smooth skin.

It was then that Janus, who up until that moment had been sitting by the fire, glaring slightly at the duo as he spoke to Remy, sprang to his feet.

“Don’t touch him.” He said suddenly, making Patton immediately jump and take his hands away from the daimon. His voice had been low and angry, but the cheery guy immediately noticed the scared look in his eyes as he quickly approached him.

Virgil’s eyes widened when he saw Diego immediately raise taller from Patton’s shoulders, hissing at his owner who immediately stopped and took a small step back, surprised and hurt. Apparently he was not the only one having trouble with his soulmate.

“Diego! You shouldn’t hiss at him! He’s your best friend!” Patton scolded, his voice stern but soft. He had to fight back a smile when the snake turned back to him wide eyed looking as if he wanted to protest. “And no, don’t look at me like that. I don’t care if you were standing up for me, you should say sorry.”

Janus watched with wide eyes as _his own daimon_ looked at a boy he had for not even a day, hissing gently as if to complain about the request.

“Diego.” Patton said warningly, making the snake look down grumpily as he slithered towards his owner.

The man just stayed still, as he watched the small man in front of him smile as his daimon went up to him, climbing on his leg and curling around his neck hugging him gently. He observed surprised as Patton shot him a sweet smile, as if he didn’t just glared at him for the whole night and yelled at him to not touch his daimon. Still, he quickly covered his surprise, and shot a glare towards the guy, slowly making his smile disappear.

Virgil could hear Nyx growl lowly, he knew how close she was to Patton and the fact that someone was making him feel bad just for being a small sweet bean; but before she could intervene, Diego once again hissed and climbed down from Janus, who let his shocked expression only show for a second before just rolling his eyes and walking away.

The snake went back to Patton who looked at him with a sad look in his eyes.

“You know you shouldn’t have done that. He looked upset when he walked away!” The animal once again hissed, more gently this time, but letting the guy know his frustration. The sweet guy just shook his head. “He is allowed to not like me Diego. After all he doesn’t know me and all of a sudden, his best friend started to only hang out with me and hissing at him. I understand why he wouldn’t like me, I shouldn’t have kept you all to myself.”

The snake wrapped himself around Patton a little tighter as if giving him a hug to try and comfort him.

“You didn’t do anything wrong Patt.” Virgil said, not even realizing he was talking until he heard his slightly hoarse voice come out of his mouth. The cheery guy looked up at him surprised, not knowing he was awake, before offering a small smile, his hand slowly caressing the snake’s skin.

“He was just acting like asshole.” He concluded.

“ _Language._ ” Both his friend and Nyx said at the same time, reminding him he was still in the presence of the mom and dad friends, but still receiving noises of agreement from both of the daimons.

There were a few seconds of silence before Patton looked back up towards the dragon witch, who had climbed on his dragon’s back to sleep more comfortably.

“For what it’s worth kiddo, Roman too was just acting like a… like a b-hole today.” He said, his voice gentle and his voice soft.

Virgil didn’t meet his gaze, keeping his eyes fixed on the sky as he felt the thousandth lump of the day form in his throat.

“Maybe he just doesn’t feel the same. I mean, I wouldn’t blame him. Who would want to be with a guy who hid in the woods for almost his whole life and has a dragon as his best friend? I wouldn’t like me eith- OW! Was that really necessary Nyx?!” He whispered-yelled, rubbing the spot on his head where his dragon had hit him and glaring at her.

But instead of being her voice answering him, it was Patton’s.

“Yes. Yes it was, Virgil. Don’t you dare talk bad about yourself or I will not hesitate to physically fight you.” He said, his voice stern and serious as he looked right into the dragon witch’s wide eyes. “You are an amazing person and if Roman really decides to keep acting like a stubborn kid, then it’s his loos. But I have known the prince for years now, and if there’s something I know for sure is that his biggest dream is to meet his soulmate. Whatever it is the reason for him to acting the way he is, I'm sure he’ll come around to apologize.”

“ _He better, or his kingdom will have a roasted chicken wing for a leader._ ” Nyx grumbled, laying her head down and shooting a death glare towards the royal persona who was seemingly sleeping on the other side of the clearing and making Virgil snort a small laugh.

At Patton words he could feel a glimmer of hope spark inside of him. Maybe the sweet man was right, maybe Roman was just shocked from the news. After all, that was not how he planned to tell him.

“Thank you, Patt.” He said, offering him a small grateful smile. “Now it’s better if we get some rest. Tomorrow we’ll have to go back to walking towards the kingdom if we want to get there fast.”

Patton just nodded, giving one last scratch on Diego’s small head before telling him to go to Janus and make up; then, both ignoring the small hiss of protest let out from the reptile slithering towards the bonfire, they bid each other good night.


	17. 17

**17**

“For what it’s worth kiddo, Roman too was just acting like a… like a b-hole today.”

As soon as he heard his name Roman started listening in on the conversation; had he really acted that bad? The prince observed as a firefly landed on a grass strand right next to where he was laying with his back to others. He had to admit he might have had slightly exaggerated, but could anyone really blame him? Finding his soulmate had always been his number one dream, but he did not wish to find him like this, not when it was di-

“Maybe he just doesn’t feel the same. I mean, I wouldn’t blame him. Who would want to be with a guy who hid in the woods for almost his whole life and has a dragon as his best friend? I wouldn’t like me eith- OW! Was that really necessary Nyx?!”

After hearing those words, Roman’s eyes were wide open in surprise; did Virgil really think those things about himself? His heart ached at the thought as he felt guilt build up inside him. That was not the reason behind his actions, he really did like the Dragon Witch, and not only for the way his slightly long black hair fell on his face framing it perfectly, or the way his brown, slightly violet eyes shined every time he would make a snarky or sarcastic comment, or even more the way his smile brightened up his whole face; he liked him also for how soft, caring and funny he was. Roman did like Virgil. But what if he only liked him because of the bond? That is not what he wanted, that’s-

He shook his head, eyes screwed shut, as he tried his best to get those thoughts out of his head. He would have thought about it in the morning, when his mind would have been clearer and he would have been more awake.

***

“Good morning!” Patton exclaimed handing the still half asleep dragon witch an apple as he sat down next to him, Diego tightly wrapped around his shoulders and his back leaned back against Nyx’s warm body.

“Good morning pat” Virgil mumbled as he watched his dragon leave a lick on the man’s cheek immediately receiving a loud hiss from the snake wrapped around the man’s shoulders.

“Diego!” Patton gasped looking at him sternly. The daimon immediately stopped, looking at him with wide seemingly innocent eyes. “Don’t hiss at her! She is my friend too!”

The snake looked down guiltily, making the dragon chuckle slightly. He immediately turned around once again hissing at her and snuggling in Patton’s neck, trying to prove a point.

“Diego what did I just tell you! No hissing! She is my friend too and I want you to be nice to her!” He once again reproached him, pushing him away slightly.

“ _Yeah, hiss hiss bitch, Patton is my boo._ ” Nyx teased sassily, gently going to rub her nose on Patton’s cheek, making the snake even more jealous as he tried to push her away with his body and failing.

“Nyx stop teasing him or I’ll make you answer any other question Logan might have.” Virgil threatened teasingly out loud, making the dragon immediately retreat from the now giggling guy with an almost panicked expression.

“Just so you know, I take great offense to that.” The nerd said passing by, making even the dragon witch crack a small smile despite his situation. “Also, you might want to get ready, we’re all leaving in a couple of minutes. Ray and the others are coming with us too.”

“Okay, thank you Logan!” Patton said smiling as he got up and threw another apple he had towards Nyx.

“Okay Patt.” Virgil sighed pushing himself off of his dragon and turning towards her. “It’s better if you head towards the others. I’m gonna get on Nyx and follow you from the sky. As I was talking to Remy yesterday, he told me they know where the kingdom is and can guide you just as well as I do, so I can make myself and Nyx invisible.”

“But-” The cheery guys started, but the dragon witch immediately interrupted him, his voice soft and sad.

“No, Patton. It’s okay. I don’t want Roman to see me like this. He’s my soulmate, he deserves to be happy, and if his happiness is not with me I don’t want him to feel guilty about it.” Only then did he notice the way Virgil look; the bags under his eyes were darker than usual, his eyes were red and puffy, other than slightly glossed over, sign that not only he had been crying most of the night, but could also cry again at any moment, and the skin on his cheeks was flushed and irritated. The dragon witch offered him a small smile, trying to make his concerned look go away. “Plus that way I can check your surroundings from above and make sure no one is following us.”

With those last words he jumped on the dragon’s back and made a two fingers salute, before taking off.

Patton sighed as he watch the two fly up into the sky just to immediately become invisible once they surpassed the tallest trees. He shook his head, petting Diego’s head gently as the snake nuzzled into his neck, trying to comfort him, before walking to where the others were waiting for them.

“Patton! There you are babe-” Remy started before almost immediately getting interrupted by Diego loud and jealous hiss, making him take a step back, surprised. “Okay bitch, got it, not calling your boo ‘babe’, no need to get all jealous on my ass.” He said sassily, quirking an eyebrow before turning around. “Whatever, let’s get walking bitches.”

They started walking, the prince quickly falling into steps with the usually cheery guy who was now sporting a small frown watching Diego slither towards Janus and climbing under his cloak.

“Hey.” He said, frowning slightly when he didn’t get a reaction. “Where’s Virgil?”

Patton shoot him a glare, making Roman’s eyes widen in surprise, taken aback.

“Why would I tell you? You didn’t seem to care where he was yesterday when you unnecessarily yelled at him, am I wrong?”

The prince looked down guiltily, flinching slightly at the uncharacteristically cold voice his friend used.

Seeing the conflict in the royal’s eyes Patton sighed, frustrated by his own empathy and affection for the guy.

“He decided to follow us on Nyx; he didn’t want you to feel guilty how the way you treated him made him feel. Regardless of what he said, I think you _should_ feel guilty and you really owe him an apology.” And with that, he started walking faster, falling into steps with the others.

Roman knew he was right, he shouldn’t have yelled at Virgil, he could have handled the situation more calmly. But that didn’t change that he didn’t want this. He thought back to the conversation he had with Logan the night before; the prince had asked him how he could be comfortable with getting into a romantic relationship with someone he met literally just a few hours prior. His friend’s answer left him more than surprised: he wasn’t a romantic person, yet what he said was probably the most romantic thing Roman had ever heard; he said that despite essentially

“ _I’ll be honest with you Roman, for once in my life I don’t know. I have no idea why I feel so comfortable hugging and kissing a stranger. All I know is that for the first time in my life, I feel complete. And for some reason I don’t care if the arms that make me feel at home just by hugging me are the ones of a stranger. And neither the fact that the stranger in question thought that a more appropriate name for the Milky Way was ‘Cum Trail’.” Logan let out a small chuckle at Roman disgusted expression. “All I know is that I wouldn’t change it for the world._ ”

But how can anyone accept something like that? Something that is not real? Something-

Before he could continue with his thoughts, a loud roar from the evening sky made all of them look up, just to see Nyx diving towards the ground and landing in a clearing a few feet away from them.

Roman blinked a couple of times; he was so wrapped up in his head he didn’t even notice they had been walking for the whole day, only then realizing how much his feet actually hurt.

“Okay guys. I think we should stop here for the night. I can cast some protection spells around, then we cannot and rest.” Virgil said, jumping down from Nyx’s back.

It was in that moment that Roman could finally give a look at the dragon witch, and despite not regretting what he said, guilt started to build up once again in his stomach: his skin was paler and the circles under his eyes were darker, his brown-violet eyes that always shone so bright were dull and slightly irritated, his lips, red and swollen for all the time times he had bit into them, were bent into a slight frown.

“ _The asshole is staring at you.”_ Nyx stated through the mind link, making Virgil shoot a quick look towards the prince. His eyes quickly ran away from his as he started towards the edge of the clearing to cast the protection spells.

_“Let him. It’s not like I can do anything about it.”_

There was a second of silence as the dragon just stared at Roman before she answered.

“ _Yeah, you’re right, you can’t.”_ She said turning around and smirking to the dragon witch. “ _But I do.”_ And with that she quickly whipped back around shooting a string of violet flames towards the royal, making him screech in surprise and terror as he quickly dodged to the right, shooting the creature a heated glare.

“ _Nyx! You shouldn’t have done that! You’re not helping my case!_ ” Virgil scolded, but a small amused smirk was clear on his lips as his best friend just shrugged.

“ _Oh well. Too late.”_

They could hear the other laugh as Roman just grumbled under his breath and stomped back into the vegetation to gather some sticks from the fire, Logan and Remus right behind him.

Virgil has almost finished caring the spells and was just waiting for them to come back when Remy approached him, Kiera by his side with her ears flat on her head as she cautiously eyes Nyx.

“Virgil? Can I talk to you for a second?”

The dragon witch just nodded, turning completely towards him to give him his full attention. The guy squirmed a bit under his gaze, looking down to avoid his eyes.

“Okay, listen, I, uhm, I…” He sighed frustrated, rolling his eyes for a second and ignoring how Kiera rubbed herself against his legs to comfort him. “I’m sorry Virgil. I didn’t think he would react like that, I have never seen _anyone_ react that way! Sure, Janus is not taking it that well, but at least he didn’t _yell_ at Patton!” He whispered-yelled slightly gesturing with his hands, trying to not let the other two who were silently preparing dinner hear.

Virgil just let out a small, bitter laugh, shaking his head slightly.

“Would you look at that, rarest type of daimon and rarest type of soulmate relationship. How fucking lucky.” He sad it in a joking voice, but he could feel his throat close up again and tears slightly gather in his eyes.

Seeing the man like that did nothing but fuel Remy’s guilt, who once again sighed softly.

“I really am sorry babe. I should have minded my own fucking business, but apparently that is the one thing I’m not that good at doing.”

Virgil just offered him a small smile.

“Don’t worry Rem. It’s okay. I couldn’t have known.”

Remy just stared at the dragon witch for a few seconds, his eyebrows raised in surprise. He couldn’t believe that after what he had done, all the man had to say to him was _that_. He could have just ruined this man’s chance to get with his soulmate and he just.. forgave him? Like that? And the asshole who just came back with his arms full of sticks was letting a man like this go, solely because he did not tell him right away they were soulmates?!

Remy felt anger and annoyance raise up inside him as he looked back at Virgil, giving him a small nod of the head before walking away. There was no way he was letting this go. He was going to talk to that bratty prince and he was going to listen to him.

“ _You know Vee, maybe the bitch’s not that bad.”_


	18. 18

**18**

“Hey bitch.” Remy started, standing in front of Roman with a hand on his hip. The prince was sitting on the ground, legs pulled up to his chest and elbows resting on his knees, as he observed the darkness of the woods. He was far away enough that the other’s voices were slightly muffled by the forest’s sound and the crackling if the fire.

“Are we gonna talk about why you’ve been an asshole to Dark and Broody over there or what?” He asked sassily, only receiving a grunt in response. He promptly ignored it, not stopping his rant.

“Come on, do you really not like him that much? I mean, I get it, the guy is a little too pale and his dragon is kind of a bitch, but apart from that-“

“He is not too pale. And yeah, Nyx is kind of a bitch, but I do like Virgil. It’s just...” he trailed off, sighing frustrated.

Seeing the man genuinely conflicted, Remy’s eyes softened as he went to sit beside him, arms resting on his bent knees.

“Is just what?” He asked, trying to encourage the prince to keep talking.

“Nothing.” He mumbled keeping his eyes trained to the ground.

“Come on Roman. Talk to me.”

At that, the prince raised an eyebrow, looking at him skeptically.

“I don’t even know you.”

“So?” Remy replied immediately, looking at him with an arched eyebrow of his own. “That should be a plus. It means I can not judge you based on shit you’ve done in the past. Plus you have to talk to someone eventually, or you’re gonna explode, so spill the beans sis.”

Roman sighed, slightly.

“Finding my soulmate as always been my dream, for as far as I can remember. At first everyone just chuckled and supported me, but when I started growing up and my answer to “what is your dream?” didn’t change, people started to tell me that soulmates didn’t exist. I was ten the first time it happened. From that point on it was drilled into my brain, so that only a couple of years ago I was able to finally ask my dad to let me marry whoever I wanted and not someone he chose. It took so much time and so many arguments and tears to convince him to let me grow old with someone I actually loved and now I’m right back to square one.”

Remy frowned confused as he let his hand run through Kiera’s fur as soon as she got to them, plopping down next to her companion.

“What do you mean?” He asked, watching as the prince let out a frustrated sigh.

“I mean that I don’t want something dictated by magic, it feels... fake. I want to hang with one of my favorite persons one day, look at them laugh and have fun and think ‘ _god I love them_ ’ and be absolutely terrified when I realized what I said. I want the thrill of trying to figure out if the feeling’s mutual. I want the fear of being rejected and I want the joy of being loved back.”

His voice was frustrated and at the same time sad, as he looked at the guy beside him silently asking him to understand what he was talking about.

Unfortunately for him though, Remy was still confused.

“And with Virgil can’t be the same way why?” He asked, slightly drawing out the ‘y’ as he raised an eyebrow.

“Because some kind of magical being decided we should be together! What I feel for him is not... is not real, it’s a spell of some sort and I want _real_ love! Not some magic potion!”

Remy stared at the prince wide eyed, surprised by the small out burst, as silence fell between them, only interrupted by the crackling of the fire and the hushed voices of the others. When the realization of what Roman was talking about finally started to sink in, the guy’s expression morphed completely, changing from surprise to disbelief.

“Woah, bitch, you really didn’t understand shit, did you?” The prince just stared at him with wide, confused eyes, making him sigh once again and roll his eyes.

“Everyone has a soulmate, humans or not. It’s not a “spell” or anything of the shit you said. People like me only know sooner than people like you because we have daimons, which are essentially a physical representation of a part of our soul and can show us the right way. People like me, remus and Janus were lucky enough to grow up with or meet other people who could explain this concept to us and teach us everything about it. Virgil didn’t. All of this is is just as new to you as it is to him.”

There were a few moments of silence as Remy looked expectantly towards Roman before continuing.

“Growing up, my parents used to tell me the myth of how soulmates originated. Back in the days, humans were not as we know them today; they were big spheres with two heads, four arms and four legs. A couple of two men were know as the sons of the Sun, two women the daughters of the moon and a man and a woman the children of the earth. After some centuries, seeing the humans become more and more arrogant, Mother Nature decided to divide them in half, dooming them to spend the rest of eternity looking for their other half, creating the rest of the human kind that way. Some of us then developed a relationship with the spirts of the forest, who helped them out by giving them daimons to guide them through life and help them to find their soulmate.”

There was another small pause as the Remy gave the prince time to let the story sink in, scratching behind Kiera’s ear and making her purr loudly before continuing.

“What I’m trying to say is that being soulmate doesn’t mean instantly falling in love with each other, you can still have everything you wished to have. The only difference is that the rejection would hurt ten times more and no matter who you’ll meet _no one_ will be able to fill the emptiness your soulmate left. A soulmate is someone the Nature chose just for you to be with for the rest of your life. The perfect fit.”

“But that’s the thing! I don’t want someone to choose who I love, whether it be my father or some kind of Goddess!” Roman exclaimed, a tear now falling down his face.

“Well, tough luck bitch!” Remy exclaimed throwing one of his hands in the air, but as soon as he turned towards the prince, froze. There were a lot of things he expected to see on the royal face: anger, indignation, conflict. What he did not expect, however, were tears of sadness and fear.

“Hey.” He started again, his voice a lot softer and more understanding, putting a hand on his shoulder. “It’s not the same thing. Your father wanted you to marry someone you don’t love and most likely never will. Mother Nature gave you someone you’ll fall deeply and madly in love with. Someone you won’t be able to live without. And Virgil is that someone.” He looked in the prince’s wide eyes for a few seconds before concluding, “And right now he is sulking all alone in a corner because you told him you didn’t want to be his soulmate. Today he rode Nyx instead of walking with us because he didn’t want you to feel guilty. He would do anything and everything if it made you happy, Roman and you would be a complete and utter idiot to let him get away like this. So you better go fucking apologize, okay bitch?”

Roman nodded almost hesitantly, drying the tears still staining his cheeks.

“Good.” And with a couple of pats on the shoulder, the sassy guy got and went back to the camp, closely followed by his panther.


	19. 19

**19**

It was the middle of the night when Roman finally gathered enough courage to get up and talk to Virgil.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself down ulteriorly, he relaxed his shoulders, rolling them back a few times, before starting to slowly make his way towards the camp site where everyone was sleeping.

He stopped near the campfire for a second, making sure the others were actually asleep before tip-toeing towards Virgil’s curled up figure; the guy had his back to the royal, preventing him to see his sleeping face as he silently inched forward, failing to notice that the dragon sleeping behind him was carefully watching his every move with her slightly cracked open eyes.

Roman stopped right behind the man, taking one last deep breath as he looked over him; the dragon-witch looked so small in comparison to the big creature pressing up againsthim with her body protectively wrapped around him.

The prince closed his eyes, collecting his thoughts as best as he could with the anxiety slowly rising up inside of him. He didn’t want to fuck this up more than he already did.

“Virgil?” He called finally, his voice soft and whispered.

The man just laid there, not moving nor responding.

“Are you awake?” He tried again, cautiously taking a step forward just to freeze upon seeing Virgil turn towards him, two yellow snake like eyes staring back at him instead of the guy’s usual brown-violet ones, a light violet hue surrounding his body.

“ _He is not. But I am,_ ** _Bitch_** _._ ” ‘Virgil’ said, his voice underlined by a more feminine one. Roman shot a quick glance towards the dragon, immediately paling. Nyx was staring right at him, her face contorted into a silent growl and her eyes shining a bright violet as she used her energy and power to take over his soulmate voice.

“ _And I have a couple of words I would like to tell you: if you came here to make up stupid excuses for why you can’t be with him just to fix your pathetic royal ego and make yourself feel less guilty, you can turn your ass back around right this moment.Don’t even try, bitch._ ” Nyx continued glaring daggers at the prince with both Virgil’s eyes and her own, to which he just dropped his head in shame. “ _And to think I was even starting to like you when you told me to not be a bitch after Vee passed out from exhaustion, but now you’re right back to square one._ ” There was almost a mocking edge in her tone, that just contributed to make it colder, making the prince flinch with every word that was spoken next. “ _Because the truth is Roman, you are nothing but a little snobby bitch who can not handle having things not go the way you want them to go; you’re just a spoiled little brat and I swear to the Goddess, if you’re not here to apologize I will tear off your knee caps and use it to scoop out your smooth unwrinkled brain and slurp it up like jello, bitch, did you-_ Nyx what the fuck are you-” Virgil said finally waking up, rubbing his head sleepily in the spot where he could feel the pressure of Nyx’s mind melting with his own; as soon as his eyes met Roman’s pale and slightly shaking figure, though, he stopped, his eyes widening in realization.

Whatever words the prince had planned to say completely died in his throat as he watched the dragon-witch sharply turn towards his dragon, who was still glaring down at him.

“What did you say to him Nyx?!” He snapped, every trace of sleep or tiredness completely gone from his body.

The voice that answered his question though was not the dragon’s sassy feminine one he was used to hear in his head, but Roman’s shy and slightly shaking one instead.

“Nothing that I did not deserve to hear.” He said, his voice just loud enough for both if them to hear.

Hearing those words Nyx’s ears twitched and her eyes slightly widened; with all the things she was expecting to receive in response to her threat, that was not one of them. Looking back at it for a second, as she observed how Roman’s hands were shaking and his cheeks were ret with shame, combined with the pure guilt and sadness in his eyes, maybe she had been a little harsh on him. Maybe. In her eyes he still deserved it for treating her best friend like shit and ignored him for two days, after he found out they were _soulmates_.

Roman sighed before finally looking up at them, immediately looking back down once his eyes met Virgil.

“I…” He stopped for a second, clearing his throat, “I just wanted to apologize for the way I reacted the other day. I shouldn’t have-” He started, but was quickly interrupted by the dragon witch.

“No, no it’s okay, I understand. I can’t force you to be in a relationship with someone you barely know, let alone someone like me.” He said softly, a small fake laugh slipping from his lips. Roman frowned, confused.

“What-what do you mean?”

Virgil gave him a small sad smile, his eyes fixed on the ground.

“I mean that no one would choose to spend their life with someone who lived in the woods for 24 years and has a a dragons, who most of the times acts like a complete bitch, as their best friend.”

“I would.” Roman replied immediately, making the dragon witch sharply turn towards him, wide eyed. Even Nyx was wearing a surprised expression, immediately a lot more interested in the conversation.

The prince was looking him the eyes, and no matter how much Virgil looked, there was no trace of mockery in his features.

Seeing the man’s hesitation, the royal sighed, looking down.

“That… That is not the reason I reacted that way. I really like you Virgil, and I don’t care if you grow up in the woods with no human interaction.” He started, blushing slightly as he shot a quick look at him. “Sure, Dragon Bitch over there can be a pain in the ass,” he continued, a small smile appearing on his lips at Nyx’s soft growl and the man’s sweet giggle, “But I would let her insult me everyday for the rest of my life if it meant seeing you smile again. If it meant I can be with you.”

There was a second of silence, both of them blushing furiously after those words where spoken.

“It was my tenth birthday.” Roman started again, his voice a bit smaller, immediately catching Virgil’s attention. “I remember being so happy that I ran all the way from my bedroom to my father’s office. He pulled me into a hug and spun me around before asking me what I wanted for my birthday…”

« _“Ah, my little boy is finally becoming a man!” The king exclaimed, hugging the small boy tightly. “So, what do you want for your birthday, young man?”_

_Prince Roman thought about it for a second, before his eyes lighted up and a big smile found its way on his face._

_“I want to meet my soulmate!” He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air and giggling._

_Immediately, though, the King stare hardened, looking down at his son with sternness._

_“No.” He deadpanned, making the child’s smile disappear._

_“No?” He echoed, his voice cracking a bit, only receiving a shake of the head._

_“But why not?” The man clenched his fists, looking away from the small prince’s eyes that were now filling with tears._

_“Why can’t I meet my soulmate? You asked me what I wanted for my birthday, yesterday you told me I could have anything I wanted!”_

_“Anything but that. You can have anything else.” The king said through clenched teeth; he had never been good at controlling his temper._

_“But I don’t want anything else!” Roman exclaimed, this time his voice raising slightly. His small hands clenched into fists as soon as he heard his father next words._

_“Well, that’s too bad. You want the only thing you can’t have.”_

_“BUT WHY?!”_ »

“… ‘Because soulmates don’t exist and even if they did and you were to meet yours, you still would never be able to spend your life with them!’.” Virgil stared at him, his lips slightly parted in surprise as he observed Roman’s pained expression at the memory. “That is what he yelled at me before sending me back to my room. I spent the rest of the day crying, and not even Patton’s dad jokes were able to cheer me up.” He took a small break to gulp down the lump in his throat and reorder his thoughts. Yes, he was only ten, and yes, it has been 17 years since that day and things were different; but those words that killed his dream so easily still hurt like salt in a wound. “Since that day, whenever I would say or even just hint, at my dream of finding my soulmate, everyone immediately shut it down, either changing the subject or telling me that I should be focusing on becoming a good leader and heir for my country instead of frivolous fantasies. It didn’t matter how hard I tried to not let their words get to me, eventually I just let myself get convinced that maybe they were right, maybe I should have downgraded my dream from finding my soulmate to convincing my father to let me merry someone I could at least learn to love for the rest of my life.” Once again he stopped, shaking his head, a small, sad smile on his lips as Virgil just listened intently, trying to not let his anger get the best of him.

“Then you came around.” This time Roman was looking right into his eyes with a soft smile, making the dragon witch’s eyes widen as he blushed slightly. “And I know I fall in love fast, but this time ‘fall’ doesn’t sound like the correct word, because when I saw you it felt more like I was plummeting than falling. Since the night you saved me, Virgil, you literally had me wrapped around your fingers, so much so that by the time we met Remy and the others I was starting to think I had actually managed to meet the love of my life.” That had the dragon witch gasp softly as he desperately tried not to blush too much, but the prince just kept going. “But out worlds are so different; in yours, spells, magic and flying on dragons are daily things, in mine the most ‘magic’ there is a rabbit out of a hat. That’s why when I found out about being soulmates, I panicked. In my head I could just hear all of the times I had been told that soulmate don’t exist, that it was all a fantasy, and the only good explanation my brain could come up with was magic. For the longest time I wanted to fall deeply and madly in love with someone, and now that I finally found someone it was all because of a spell.” He laughed humorlessly, “thanks to Remy now I know that is not what it is, but when I first learnt the information I couldn’t grasp the concept of soulmate and that is the only solution my panicking mind found.

“Then when Remy finally explained it to me, telling me about how a soulmate is someone Mother Nature chose for me to spend my life with, I panicked _again_. I had spent the last ten years of my life trying to convince my father to let me merry who I wanted, for what? Let some kind of Goddess I didn’t even know existed until two days ago decide for me?” He shook his head again, smiling as he remembered Remy’s reaction to what he had said. “Only when he reminded me that I was already falling for you, before even knowing about the whole soulmate thing, and that it was completely different from what my father wanted to do, I realized how stupid and incredibly dramatic bitch I had been.” This time he turned towards Virgil and for the first time since they started talking, he kept his gaze. “What I’m trying to say is, I’m sorry for the way I treated you yesterday. It was uncalled for and I should have tried to understand the concept better before going off on you.” He concluded.

The dragon witch could feel his cheeks heating up in embarrassment as he looked away, not able to hide the smile making its way on his lips. Roman actually liked him.

“It’s okay, Princey. Now I know why you did it. Plus, you’re not the only one who has something to apologize for. I should have told you that morning that we were soulmates, but I was anxious and scared that you’d react badly and when I was about to we got attacked, and then after that we had to run away and then we met Remy and-”

He started rambling, but immediately froze when the prince quickly leaned in, leaving a small kiss on the corner of his mouth, making his whole face go red as he just froze.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” Roman apologized, giggling, a small blush appearing on his face. “You’re cute when you ramble… Virgil? Are you okay?”

With a quick movement of the tail, Nyx intervened, delivering a small slap to the back of the dragon witch’s head, making him snap back from the trance he had fallen into.

“OW! _What the fuck bitch?!_ ” He exclaimed, making the royal choke down a laugh to not wake the others.

“ _I’m sorry bitch, your brain stopped working there for a few seconds, had to get it moving again._ ” The dragon shrugged before turning back around, giving the two a bit more privacy.

“There were a few moments of silence, where the two did nothing but shoot shy glances at each other, blushing every now and then.

“So,” Virgil said, finally finding the courage to break the silence, “what do you say, would you give this whole ‘soulmate thing’ a shot?”

The prince smiled at him, before looking at him in the eyes.

“As long as we take it slow, I don’t see why not.” He answered softly, before slowly starting to inch closer.

Unfortunately for him, though, _someone_ had other plans.

“ _Slow my ass!_ ” With another quick movement of the tail, Nyx pushed the prince against the dragon-witch’s chest, making them both fall to the ground with a surprised squeal before bursting out laughing.

“ _Nyx, you’re the worst._ ”

“ _Yeah, yeah, sure, now kiss him bitch!_ ”

Virgil didn’t need to get told twice, so moving quickly, he lifted up his torso, he left a small chaste kiss on Roman’s lips, leaving him completely stunned. And before he even knew it, the prince was passionately kissing his lips again, making him blush and giggle into the kiss.

“So much for taking it slow, uh?” Virgil mumbled, making the other shake his head with a small smile.

“Shut up.” He laughed, his cheeks still heating up with a blush as the dragon witch looked at him with a cheeky smile, a flicker of purple brightening his eyes for a second.

“Make me…”

And with that they went back to kissing, giggling quietly as to not wake the others.

“ _Ugh, love._ ” Nyx complained, tuning off their voices and drifting off to sleep; and yeah, she would always deny the happy expression on her face and the content sigh that left her as she drifted off to the sound of her best friend and their soulmate whispering sweet nothings to each others and laughing quietly. But that’s not important


	20. 20

“Uh. I see that the two lovebirds have made amends.” Remy said dropping down next to Patton.

The fatherly guy nodded, gently petting Diego’s head and munching on an apple.

They both observed their friends sleeping next to each other, Roman’s arms tightly wrapped around Virgil, who had his head buried in the other’s chest, Nyx’s body providing shade.

It was a quiet and sunny morning, Logan and Remus went hunting (much to Patton’s dislike) and Janus was silently starting to get things ready to leave, shooting glares towards the ever happy guy and what was supposed to be his daimon and _best friend_. He was not jealous at all.

Unfortunately, none of them noticed the dark figure approaching from behind the still sleeping dragon.

After stealthily walking until they were right beside the two sleeping guys, they stopped, taking a deep breath.

“WAKE UP DORKS!” Remus screamed making Virgil and Roman jump up, startled, the prince already frantically looking around for his sword.

Before he could do anything, though, Nyx’s tail grabbed the chaotic guy’s ankle hauling him off the ground, growling annoyed.

“Wiiii” He giggled letting his arms dangle, causing the dragon to be taken aback; that was not the reaction she was expecting.

“ _Okay, this is a weird one. Cute, yes, but weird as fuck._ ” She said through the mind link, her voice assuming almost a fascinated tone and tilting her head to the right curiously, making the dragon witch giggle slightly as he tried to calm down from the scare.

“Logan! Logan look! I’m like a vampire bat! Isn’t it cool?! Let me suck your blood!” Remus exclaimed, “Or something else…” He added more suggestively, moving his arms slightly before just letting himself dangle, watching with a big goofy smile as his boyfriend came out of the vegetation while facepalming.

“Hey! Hey, N! Do you think you can throw my in the air and catch me before I hit the-” Before Remus could even finish his sentence, Nyx dropped him to the ground, making him fall on his shoulder. “OUCH! That hurt! Can we- _Oh my god_ , was that a squirrel?! Brando, quick, help me catch it!”

With that, the eccentric guy ran back into the vegetation, his giant opossum right behind him, the pain of the fall long forgotten.

Logan just stared at him with a soft look on his face, still trying to wrap his head around how easy it was for him to for Remus when he literally met him less than a week ago.

His thoughts got interrupted by a loud clap of hands that made him jump and turn around towards a still slightly red prince.

“Well, that was weird. What’s the program for today?” Roman asked, straightening down his suit and gently helping Virgil up.

“I’d say we keep on walking as much as we can, that way we should be able to reach the kingdom by tomorrow noon.” Explained Remy barely managing the hold the laugh as he watched the prince lean on the dragon cooly, just for Nyx to purposely move back, making him fall on his ass.

Only when Virgil finally exploded in a fit of giggles, did everyone start laughing too, making the royal go bright red and grumble in embarrassment.

“Okay bitches, come on. Let’s start walking or we will never get to kingdom for tomorrow.” Remy panted, finally calming down from all the laughter and getting up, scratching behind Kiera’s ear making her purr happily.

They were about to leave when a loud hiss made them stop in their tracks and quickly turn around, just to see Diego slowly making his way back to Patton’s shoulders after lashing out at Janus. The guy just had a surprised and hurt expression painted on his face, that morphed into anger just as quickly as everything happened.

“Diego! Why would you do that?! Apologize right now!” Patton immediately reprimanded, making the snake hiss slightly in protest and the scaled guy scoff bitterly.

The kind guy immediately looked at him, his head slightly tilted to the right curiously.

“Oh please.” Janus scoffed again, a scowl on his face as he avoided the other’s eyes, trying to ignore the pull of the soulmate’s bond which just kept on getting stronger each and every day. “Stop playing dumb. You know why he acts like that and you like it. So do me a favor and fuck off with the innocent act-”

“Hey!” Interrupted Virgil immediately, his voice immediately backed up by Nyx aggressive and protective growl. “Don’t talk to him like that.”

“Stay out of it, Virgil. This doesn’t concern you.”

The dragon witch took a step forward, his hands curled into fists and faint violet hue surrounding them.

“He is my friend and you are hurting him. It _is_ of my concern.”

“Okay gurls, retreat your claws and calm the fuck down. Patton are you okay?” Remy intervened, turning towards the usually cheery guy who at the moment had a sad frown on his lips. He nodded, laying a hand over the one Roman had supportively put on his shoulder.

“And Janus, stop being a bitch to him, he didn’t do anything bad to you.”

The scaled guy scoffed, rolling his eyes and slightly turning back towards the vegetation, living a few moments of tense silence lingering in the air.

“You know what? Fuck you Remy. You know perfectly well, why I’m acting like this. Or even better, fuck all of you. You have no right to judge me. Buh-bye.”

Too stunned to say anything they all just stood there, watching as their friend walked away into the vegetation, alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hey, hello, ciao. I'm not dead. I am so sorry for the long absence.
> 
> I know it's been two months and I hope with all my heart there's still someone reading this, so in case there is, here is the new chapter.
> 
> so many things have happened in this months and as much as I don't like admitting it, more than once I got a bit overwhelmed. Even now it's kind of difficult to wrap my head around. I went from living with my family with my back yard as a view (which was still amazing btw), to live 2hours away from my family, alone with my best friend of ten years and this as a view:
> 
> I went from living with my family with my back yard as a view (which was still amazing btw), to live 2hours away from my family, alone with my best friend of ten years and the skyline of a completely different city as a view. 
> 
> so yeah, I have been trying my best to get back into the swing of things.
> 
> But enough said, I hope you all had a great two months (and start of school!), if not and you need someone to talk to I'm always available, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter although short! 
> 
> Bye bye my lovelies!
> 
> Ali c:


	21. 21

The group stayed frozen in their tracks for a few seconds. None of them was expecting such an outbursts from Janus. The silence around them was deafening.  
“Well, shit, that was intense!” Remus said with a small uncomfortable giggle, earning an elbow to the stomach from his boyfriend.  
“Ouch! I’m sorry, I’m not good with conflict!” He pouted, slightly glaring at Logan.  
His comment seemed to get Remy out of the state of frozen shock they all seemed to have fallen in, letting him run after his friend.  
“Janus!” He yelled, seeing him still walking just a few meters in front of him. “Janus wait!”  
“Leave me alone Jeremy.” His voice was cold but the cat eyed guy could hear the slight cracking at the end, even as his friend kept walking and giving his back to him.  
“No.” He said, as he followed behind him effortlessly. “No, I won’t leave you alone.”  
Remy let him walk a few more meters before finally grabbing his arm, making him snap around and hiss at him angrily.  
“Stop.” He said as Janus started trying to yank his arm free.  
“Janus, stop.” He growled, but the guy refused to listen to him, instead he started to use his other hand to try and pry the other’s open, as tears of frustration started falling from his eyes.  
“Janus, I said stop! By acting like this you’re not only hurting yourself but your daimon too!” Remy exclaimed, sighing in relief when he saw the other stop, frozen.  
“Listen, I’m not gonna sit here and tell you I know how it feels to go through what you experienced.” Remy started, his breath imperceptibly labored. “But just stop for a second and think about it. He is not the person who hurt you Janus. For what you told me, there was not even a moment where that asshole acted nice towards you or Diego, whereas Patton has been nothing but nice and understanding, even when you were the one treating him like shit.”  
Silence fell between them, only interrupted by the chirping of the birds around them and the rustle of some animals in the bushes. Janus could feel Remy’s concerned eyes look at him expectantly, but he refused to meet them, choosing to study the ground instead.   
He knew the panther was right; he knew Patton had been nothing but kind to him and it had been unfair of him to act that way. But after what had happened almost ten years before, he was scared shitless of what he was feeling; because the truth was… Jake was nice too. Sure, he hadn’t been the kindest to Diego when he saw him the first time, but it could have been easily blamed on a fear of snakes or reptiles, it was common between humans. So what stopped Patton from being any different? What was there to assure him that the sweet and loving guy he had been seeing every day for the last week or so, was nothing but a façade?  
Seeing more tears running down his friend’s face, Remy gently pulled him in a hug, not caring that he didn’t immediately hug him back, purring gently in an attempt to calm him down.  
Eventually Janus reciprocated the embrace, the rumble coming from the usually sassy guy’s chest comforting him enough to stop his crying.  
“Listen, why don’t you come back with me, mh?” Remy offered gently, his hands still on the other’s shoulders as they broke the hug. “You don’t have to explain anything, and if anyone gives you shit for how you acted I’ll rip their throat out.”   
Janus actually giggled at the loving tone his friend used for the threat, drying his cheek and nodding slightly.  
Remy smiled before continuing, “But you have to promise me you’ll apologize to Patton.” The scaly guy’s face fell, his eyes going back to the ground as he played with the hem of his shirt.   
“Hey. Soulmate or not, he is a part of our group, and despite understanding why you acted the way you did, he still deserves an apology. You don’t have to explain anything to him and I’m not telling you to start dating immediately.” Remy tried to reassure him immediately. “Just talk to him. The guy’s a puff-ball, I’m sure he is more concerned about the fact that you stormed away rather than upset about you telling him to fuck off.”  
“Okay.” He whispered, offering his friend a small smile as they both started their way back towards the others.  
They walked in silence, hearing the whispers as soon as they got to the tree line.  
Once they came out Janus didn’t bother looking up when he heard the other stop talking almost immediately, not wanting to see the looks and glare they were probably shooting him.  
“There’s nothing to see guys, come one. Let’s start walking, it’s already almost noon.” Remy said, quickly getting everyone to go back to walking.  
Janus shot him a grateful smile as before keeping his distance in the back of the group.   
His eyes widened when he saw Diego quickly slithering towards him, making him stop for a second to let him climb up his leg.  
The snake immediately wrapped around his shoulder, hugging him gently with a soft and apologetic hiss that made Janus smile.  
He hugged his best friend back, feeling eyes on him and looking up, barely catching Patton looking away, but he didn’t miss the sad smile on the usually cheery guys face.

The day went by quickly, and janus couldn’t help but be more and more confuse by the way his soulmate acted; every time Diego tried to even just go near him, Patton would find a way to avoid him, whether it being talking to someone or completely side stepping. At some point he even asked Virgil to ride on Nyx and despite him saying that he just enjoyed flying, the snake guy had the feeling there was more to it.   
They finally stopped walking when the sky got dar and it started to rain. Nyx quickly located a spot where they could stop for the night and luckily enough she even found some big boulders positioned in a way that could shelter them from the rain.  
Logan and Remus quickly got a fire started as Virgil put up some protections and rain-repellent spells, before they sat down and ate some of the game Roman and Remy managed to catch.  
For the entirety of the night, Janus kept his distance, not talking to anyone that wasn’t Remy if it wasn’t strictly necessary, ignoring the sad and guilt filled looks Patton shot him every once in a while.  
Eventually, after everyone went to sleep, he managed to fall asleep too. Diego was curled up next to him as he played down next to the dying bonfire, his arms wrapped around himself and his legs to his chest for comfort and to try and keep himself from getting too cold.  
And if during the night Diego saw someone cover his best friend with a warm sweater, he surely didn’t wake up Janus to let him know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, so yeah, I'm not dead. I know this chapter sucks, but I haven't updated this story in way too long and I felt bad. 
> 
> Since I have less to no idea on what to write for this story since I only have some scenes here and there prepared, please feel free to leave suggestion or requests on what you want to see in the story and I'll try my best to wove it in with what I know I want to write!
> 
> sorry again for the absence
> 
> Bye,
> 
> Ali


	22. 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING! talk about gaslighting and abuse! Also there's like a cut, so yeah... didn't go much into detail but still, let me know if i need to add a summery at the end!

**22**

As the first rays of sun started to shine through the boulders protecting them from the rain, Janus started to stir; he squeezed his eyes tightly against the light as he nuzzled further into the soft fabric that was keeping him warm, Diego slithering closer to his side.

It took him a few minutes to realize he didn’t recognize the texture or the smell of the piece of clothing his nose was buried into. Slowly, he opened his eyes, looking down at the soft grey sweater laying on his shoulders and hiding his snake, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

Janus sheepishly looked around, trying to catch sight of the cheery guy he knew was responsible for him staying warm that night.

He saw him humming softly as he fed some wood to the fire to try and get warmed up a bit as the humidity the rain left behind made the air colder. No one else was awake yet, not even the sun that was still lazily rising up to the sky.

Janus could feel his stomach close slightly as he pondered whether or not to go talk to his soulmate. He knew he had to sooner or later, he had to apologize _and_ give his sweater back, but still, he was nervous. He treated the poor guy like shit, he told him to ‘fuck off’ after he had been nothing but kind to him, and what does he do after all of this? He gives him his sweater because he saw he was cold, completely disregarding the fact that now _he_ was the one who was shivering!

Janus sighs silently, closing his eyes for a few seconds to try and calm himself down. A small smile curved his lips as he felt Diego wrap around his neck to hug him and provide some kind of pressure to his chest to try and help.

Slowly, the snake like guy got up, hesitantly walking towards the smaller guy who was still humming and oblivious, his hand stretched towards the small orange flames.

Janus plopped down beside him with a sigh, making Patton jump slightly in surprise. The scale guy kept his gaze on the ground despite feeling the other’s wide eyes studying him carefully.

They stayed silent for a few more seconds before the snake like guy finally decided to broke it.

“I’m sorry…” He said softly, his voice lowered in almost a whisper. “ I shouldn’t have treated you that way and I shouldn’t have told you to… t-to ‘fuck off’.”

Patton chuckled, dismissing his words with movement of his hand.

“Ah, don’t worry about it. I mean, I would have been pretty mad too if a random guy suddenly came into my life and snatched away my best friend.”

Janus attempted to chuckle the same way the cheery guy was doing, but his smile fell short looking more like a grimace than anything else.

Patton didn’t took long to notice, frowning in concern as he went to put a hand on the other’s shoulder before changing his mind and letting it fall to his side.

“What’s wrong?” He asked softly, trying to meet his eyes.

The scale-y man tried to ignore the sting in his chest at the way the cheery guy’s hand fell away from him, the soulmate bond showing itself more than ever as it made his body crave the other’s touch and affection.

“It’s just that that… that was not why I treated you the way I did.” He started, his eyes never meeting Patton’s.

“Why then? Did I say something wrong? Did I do something to offend you? Or maybe you just don’t like me, I mean I wouldn’t blame you, it’s not really under our control, sometimes you just don’t like someone,” He started to ramble, making Janus’ heart ache even more. How could a guy so nice and caring be _his_ soulmate? “Like for example when I was younger I had this teacher whom I didn’t like not even one bit! Sure she was a meanie but still I-”

“I was scared.” He whispered, making Patton stop so abruptly he almost chocked on his words.

“Scared? Of _me_?” The guy asked looking at his hands as if to check they were still normal, making Janus chuckle tiredly.

“No, not of you. Of getting hurt again.”

Silence fell between the two of them, only interrupted by Remus’ snoring and the bids’ chirping. He didn’t need to look at him to know that Patton was just sitting there, patiently waiting for him to explain what he meant. He could feel the other concerned gaze on himself.

So, taking a deep breath he started talking.

“Before meeting Remy and Remus, I lived in a normal village; I was raised in an orphanage, thinking I was no different than any other kid there, but growing up I quickly understood it was not true; the scales on my face and body and my snake-like eye, made it so people either called me names or stayed away from me, too freaked out by my appearance. Having Diego with me at all time really didn’t help. I have never really knew what it meant to have someone like you platonically, let alone romantically. So when a guy who seemed “cute” and “handsome” - he strolled his eyes- came along and started talking to me as if I were normal, it was easy for me to fell.” He grimace, looking down at his fidgeting hands before continuing. “Hadn’t I been so stupid I would have run away from him when he almost killed Diego after seeing him for the first time;- Patton gasped but he ignored him and kept going,- but I was blind to the way he treated me and all of my daimons warning fell on deaf ears.”

At that point Janus felt like the words were tumbling out of his mouth one after the other.

“Other than that episode he was kind and gentle with me; he was funny and smart and romantic. He worked at a science lab and even brought me along a couple of times. And that’s when things started to get weird.”

His eyes glossed over, becoming distant as his mind filled with memories.

_Janus giggled, his hand covering his smile as he watched Jake put on his white lab coat and make a face at him, sticking his tongue out._

_“Hey, wanna see how we usually test stuff?” His boyfriend asked with a weird glint in his eyes that the other didn’t notice._

_The younger nodded, curiously tilting his head to the right as he swung his leg slightly._

_Jake grabbed a few things, giving his back to the other who just sat on his stool, before turning around with a scalpel in his hand._

_“Give me your arm.” He demanded, making Janus’ eyes widen. He looked between his boyfriend’s expecting hand and his face a couple of times, trying to see if he was kidding._

_“Are you serious?” He asked giggling nervously, his already wavering smile completely vanishing when the other nodded._

_He shook his head, keeping his right arm close to his chest, making Jake roll his eyes and sigh in annoyance._

_“Come on, stop acting like a child. Everyone here does it from time to time to work on experiments. Plus didn’t you say you wanted to see how we worked here?”_

_Janus stopped for a second. Jake wouldn’t hurt him right? If he said everyone did it, then why wouldn’t he?_

_So, hesitantly, he let the man take his arm and dig a rather deep cut into it, making him hiss in pain. He tugged at his arm trying to get it out of the other’s hold, but he only held it tighter and Janus was sure he would have bruises forming there._

_Jake collected some of the blood and then took a cotton swab and put it in the cut, moving it back and forth and making Janus whimper in pain, a few tears rolling from his eyes._

_“Oh my god, you’re such a baby.” Jake scoffed letting go of his arm and turning around to write something down on his notebook. “It doesn’t even hurt that much, I’m sure you’re just blowing it out of proportion.”_

_Janus didn’t say anything, he just sat there, looking down at his arm and pressing on the cut with his other hand to stop the bleeding._

_“Go home.” His boy friend ordered, making his eyes widen again. Was he not even going to give him something to medicate the cut? “I’ll meet you there okay?”_

Janus closed his eyes for a second, swallowing the lump in his throat and trying his best to calm down before continuing.

“That was the first time he experimented on me. In the months to come he would bring me more and more often to the lab, making me do different things and jotting down the results on his notebook. Whenever I refused he would either tell me that everyone else did, telling me how much of a baby I was, it or that I should just have done it if I actually loved him. At some point he convinced me to take Diego with me and then leave him at the lab in a terrarium, before not allowing me to see him anymore. He didn’t care that by doing that I started to get sick, only feeling better when he would bring me back to the lab with him.” He stopped once again taking a deep breath, ignoring the small sniffles coming from his soulmate. Diego gently cuddled closer to him, as if he was trying to hug him. “ It was only a few months afterwards that he let his façade completely slip. He had convinced me to lay on one of those metal tables they had in the lab and then completely immobilized me by tying me down; at that point he and the other scientists started doing whatever to my body, cutting and tearing off scales, before leaving me in the lab for the rest of the night.

“It was only one week later, after everyone had gone home, that the cleaner saw me. I had talked to him only a couple of times, and never long enough to ever even catch his name, but I always noticed the glares he shoot the scientists whenever he saw them with me. It was only thanks to him if I was able to run away. He untied me and gave me some clean clothes before helping me get Diego out and telling me to run into the woods, where I eventually met Remy and Remus.”

He stopped. He never meant to actually tell Patton the whole story, but for some reason talking to him was just so… _easy_.

“I promised myself I would have never got that close to anyone else. I got too hurt from what happened and I still have the scars to prove it. And then I met you. - he looked up at Patton, his eyes softening when he noticed the guy was actually sobbing and looked like he wanted nothing more than to hug him.- and you were just so kind, and soft, and gentle. You immediately got along with Diego and you didn’t even freak out when he came up to you the first time. And I was just terrified. Because despite everything he had done Jake was kind too. Or at least he was able to act like he was.- he stopped, a sigh escaping his lips as he put his head in his hands, his voice cracking.- God I’m so fucking stupid, I should have known you’re not like him.”

Janus didn’t even get to fully finish the sentence before Patton actually full on threw himself at him, wrapping him in a warm gentle hug.

“Don’t you _dare_ call yourself stupid for being scared. What you went through was absolutely horrible and terrifying, and you’re so strong, not only because you were able to survive, but also because in some ways, you managed to _move on_.” The cheery guy mumbled, hiding his face in the crook of the other’s neck. He didn’t care about how Janus didn’t hug him back immediately, still too shocked to even move. He understood.

Patton put his chin on the other’s shoulder, smiling as he slowly felt him wrap his arms around him to hug him back, Diego coming out from his hiding spot under Janus shirt too.

“You’re such a strong, brave and amazing individual, who manage to go through hell and back and actually _survive._ I don’t blame you for being scared, because it’s okay to be, especially after going through what you did.”

It was only at that point that Janus finally let his walls fall completely, hugging Patton tighter, holding on to his shirt as he sobbed into his shoulder. That morning, for the first time he was feeling completely accepted and loved. For the first time he felt as if it was okay for him to try and love again.

A few feet away, Remy cuddled closer to Kiera, ignoring the tear running down his cheek and closing his eyes back up with a small smile. He was happy to see one of his best friends finally starting to let himself be happy again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS! 2020 is finally over!
> 
> So here is the new chapter, i hope the length of it makes up even if in just a small part for how late it came hahah!
> 
> As always let me know what you think of it and feel free to point out any mistakes/typos you may find while reading!
> 
> Just like i said last chapter, since I have less to no idea on what to write for this story since I only have some scenes here and there prepared, please feel free to leave suggestions or requests on what you want to see in the story and I'll try my best to wove it in with what I know I want to write! Thank you!
> 
> Happy new year again and thank you for always being patient with updates and stuff, you guys really did make this year a 100 times better <3 Love you all! <3
> 
> Bye,
> 
> Ali c:


	23. A/N please read ;-;

Hi guys! Sorry for this A/N i swear the next chapter will be out as soon as i can!

Now i know it's way too soon to be talking about a new story, but i need to start planning it out and that takes a long time, so it would help to already know what you guys want to read next!

So i'll tell you the titles of the stories i was planning on working on:

1) **Bodyguard - Prinxiety** : When Virgil gets dragged by his best friend to a concert of the world famous band _R.O.Y.A.L.S.,_ he was not expecting to become the cute frontman's new bodyguard.

Pairings:Prinxiety, Remile, Logicality and Demus (though less present)

Angst level out of 10: I'd say probably a 4/10.

2) **365 Days - Prinxiety** : When Virgil, a world wide famous singer, got into a car accident that temporarily took away his vision, he did not expect to meet a bright, musical obsessed guy he would eventually fall in love with.

Extract: _“Oh please. I’ll give you a year before you’re head over heels for me. And that’s just cause you’re stubborn!” “Oh yeah? Well, challenge accepted, Princey.”_

Pairings: Prinxiety, Logicality, maybe some Remile or Demus, you guys can choose i didn't really plan that far into the story.

Angst level out of ten: _Definitely_ 10/10

3) **Badly Damaged - Prinxiety (soulmate AU)** : _(yeah i know another prinxiety but it's just easy to write okay?! lol)_ Virgil just got out of a 4 years sentence in a juvenile prison for the murder of his brother, despite it not being his fault. 

Now that he is out he lives with his grandmother, the only member of his family willing to take him in after the scandal, and he is trying to get his life back together.

He has no friends, and no one trusts him or wants to get close to him. Not even his soulmate, the words permanently tattooed on his arm a constant reminder of that: " _Listen, I don't like you."_.

Only Patton, a weirdly ever happy guy from a local bakery, doesn’t seem to mind his presence, his past or the fact that he doesn't talk, and offers him a job and a friend.

Roman, his employee, does not agree with the decision, but is forced to accept it. And who knows maybe he’ll find out that after all Virgil is not all that bad.

Pairings: Prinxiety, Logicality, Demus and Remile, in order from most to least present

Angst level out of 10: i'd say a solid 8 or 9/10

4) **Escape - Intrulogical (soulmate AU)** : this is based on this prompt: _"When you meet your soulmate for the first time, you get a brief flash-forward of your future."_

When they were younger, Roman and Remus both loved to hear their mother talk about all of the amazing adventures they would have gone on thanks to their superpowers, imagining themselves fighting villains like their parents have done all of their lives. Their mum loved to tease them, telling them about a special power they both had but didn't know about and no matter how much they begged her, she would not have told them what power it was until they were 18. 

Unfortunately, though, she never got to tell them before getting killed, and while after getting their revenge Roman went on to became the city's beloved hero, Remus decided that saving people wasn't for him, and settled for opening a small pub downtown. 

This is where he meets Logan, a shy guy in a bad situation. As soon as their eyes meet, Remus he's able to see their future together and the abusive situation the guy finds himself at the moment and decides that, if no one else's, at least he would be Logan's hero.

Peculiarity: this would be an interactive story, so i will have to write it down completely and then publish it all at one, which will take a really long time. The other option would be to put a poll at the end of each chapter with which you guys could choose what the next chapter would be, but that would exclude everyone who finds and reads the story later. **This would probably take the longest to publish and i'm half tempted to make i a collaboration with someone else (if you have anyone in mind let me know!)**

Pairings: Intrulogical, Prinxiety, Moceit.

Angst level out of 10: I'd say between 6 and 8/10

5) **Devilish - Analogical** : Virgil was bored as hell. Being the son of the King Of the Underworld wasn't as fun as it sounded. He wanted to go and see the human world, he wanted to explore it and get to know the way they lived better. After a lot of convincing, his father agrees to let him do it, and he becomes a student in the London University. Things get wildly interesting when he takes interest in the smartest guy of the school, his father sends an undercover demon to protect him and God's sends his best angel to make Virgil go back.

Extract: _“Dad please let me do it. It’s just gonna be for a year no one is even gonna notice!”_

_“Oh wow I didn’t know your grandpa changed his name from god to ‘No One’.” He said sarcastically._

_Virgil huffed and rolled his eyes looking at his father sitting on his red throne, the sunglasses he was wearing to shield himself from the fire of Hell slightly pushed down on his nose to look at his son._

_“Virgil i already told-“_

_“_ He wants to break free.

He wants to break free.

He wants to break free from this life of hot skies and be free!

He wants to be free,

Dad knows- _”_

_“Freddy shut the fuck up or I swear imma send you back into the flames.”_

_“Oh, come on!” Mercury whined, slightly stomping his foot like a child, before shooting Remy a playful look and slowly starting to do the shimmy, “_ Don’t stop me now, I’m having such- _”_

_The devil’s son giggled as he listened to his father groan and calling his minions with a small movement of the hand._

_In the bat of an eye, four black vaguely human shaped spirits came to drag Freddy out of the throne room._

_“No, no, no-_ Save me, save me, save me! _”_

Peculiarities: Despite the fact that the theme of the story is religious, it will not be based on an actual religion but will take a little bit from all of them, for example Remy is known as the devil but Hell is based around the greek view of the Underworld, meaning everyone who dies goes there, not only those who 'sinned' and then people get sorted into different parts of it. If you happen to be familiar with the TV show Lucifer, the dynamics will be more or less those.

Pairings: Analogical, Royalty, Demus, Remile.

Angst level out of 10: 3/10, maybe lower honestly.

**PLEASE VOTE AND LET ME KNOW WHICH ONE YOU'LL LIKE TO READ! IT WON'T BE POSTED UNTIL AT LEAST ONE OF THE STORIES I'M WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT WILL BE FINISHED BUT I STILL NEED TO PLAN IT ANYWAY!**

Yeah, so thank you for reading and let me know!

Bye,

Ali c:


	24. 23

**23**

It took another hour for the others to wake up; Janus couldn’t have been more thankful for the time to recompose himself and finally get to know his soulmate now that he knew the reason behind his actions.

The snake like guy couldn’t tear his eyes off of Patton, everything about him pulled him in, screaming softness and kindness. He didn’t know how he managed to keep his distance for so long, when in that moment, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t keep himself away from his lover’s arms.

On his part, Patton did not complain in the slightest; he enjoyed having Janus all cuddled up on his chest, Diego gently wrapping his body around the both of them, and for the first time in his life he managed to feel complete and thoroughly content. It didn’t matter if they were in a cavern in the middle of the forest, trying to get back to the castle while being chased by a bunch of expert killers. He was just happy to have cuddles form his soulmate.

A low growl interrupted theirquiet talking, making the two guys jump and Diego immediately hiss. Their eyes both snapped towards the source of the sound, meeting the much more threatening ones of the dragon; her glare was clearly directed at Janus, who just looked at her petrified, eyes wide with fear and surprise.

What Nyx did _not_ expect though, was to have her glare reciprocated. And what she expected even _less_ , was for that glare to be coming from Patton out of everyone.

“Nyx. Knock it off. Now.” He said, his tone stern, ignoring the small confused whine the dragon let out.

Janus moved closer to the usually cheery guy, making the dragon’s eyes once again snap to him with a more uncertain growl.

“Hey!” Patton immediately intervened again, “I said knock. It. Off.”

“What-” Virgil’s sleepy question was interrupted by a quick yawn as the kerfuffle woke him up. “What is happening?”

“Nyx is growling at my soulmate and won’t stop. I don’t care if she’s doing to protect me. Either she stops or I’m revoking all her pets and cuddle privileges.”

There were a few seconds of silence as the others started to slightly stir awake. Despite the slight softness in Patton’s words they were still stern and serious, having completely gone in dad mode, his arms holding Janus a little tighter.

The snake-like guy still couldn’t believe this guy was his soulmate: cute and soft on the outside, but willing to fight a freaking dragon if it meant protecting him after only one day of actually knowing him.

“ _He made you cry!_ ” Nyx exclaimed, making almost everyone jump as she took control of Virgil voice.

Patton remained unreadable, only raising an eyebrow. “Your point? Roman has made Virgil cry too and you have forgiven, him.”

“ _I still think he’s a huge moron-_ ”

“Hey!” The prince exclaimed indignantly, but was immediately shushed by the glares both the dragon and Patton sent him.

“ _I’m still mad at him and I wouldn’t be this close to him if I could help it, but at least he had his reasons to act like an asshole._ ”

Once again Patton just stayed silent, straightening his back slightly and rubbing Janus’ shoulder with his thumb to help the both of them calm down.

“And what makes you think Jan has his reasons too? The fact that you don’t know them? He is allowed to not disclose private information with someone whom he’s not comfortable with, _especially_ when that someone is glowering and growling at him.”

She didn’t reply, just sighing and rolling her eyes as she turned away to lay back down. As the violet hue of light left Virgil’s body and his eyes went back to normal, everyone could tell that Patton had won the argument.

The dad friend’s shoulder immediately slumped, a sigh of relief leaving his lips as he smiled down at his astonished soulmate.

“Well, isn’t this a lovely way to start the day?” Remy broke the silence, clapping his hands to emphasize the sarcasm in his sentence.

Remus chuckled, getting up from laying on top of Logan who groaned slightly at the lifted weight.

“Oh, come on, what good day doesn’t start with a cat fight?” He laughed, making his boyfriend roll his eyes as he sleepily draped himself on his shoulders.

Remy sighed, his eyes traveling between all of the couples hugging, still trying to wake themselves up.

“Okay, let’s get a move and eat breakfast, so we can go back to walking. We’re not vene a day away from the kingdom now.” He announce, sitting beside Janus and Patton.

He took out the rest of the game he, Roman and Remus had managed to catch the day before and started cooking it.

Logan looked at Remus weirdly as he felt the man go slightly tense in his hold at the mention of how close they were to their destination, but decided to not question it; he hoped his boyfriend would come to him by himself if he had a problem.

As they went back to walking for the rest of the day Patton was approached by Roman.

“Hey,” He started, falling into step with him, his hands deep in his pockets. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Patton sighed, closing his eyes for a second. He was tired; for the whole day the only question asked to him was if he was was okay, and he had grown to hate the word. He wasn’t made of glass. He knew how to take care of himself and it was his soulmate they were talking about, not some kind of criminal.

“Yes, Roman. I’m okay. I just had a talk with my _soulmate,_ like adults.”

Roman stayed silent for a few seconds hearing the sharpness in Patton’s voice, before sheepishly replying.

“That’s… that’s not what I was referring to.”

That got the cheery guy’s attention, his eyes rushing to find the prince’s, curious.

“As much as I didn’t like how Janus treated you in the last few days, I am the least suitable person to judge a section to meeting your soulmate, and I don’t doubt he had his reasons to act the way he did.” He stopped for a second, shooting him a small smile that Patton gratefully reciprocated. “What I meant is that since this morning you seemed to be quieter than usual and lost in thought. I just wanted to make sure you were okay and reassure you that whatever you said to Janus… - they both stopped, their eyes meeting the figure of the scale-covered guy laughing and smiling at his conversation with Remy - Well, seemed to have helped him a lot.”

Patton smiled before leaning in and hugging Roman tightly, a silent ‘thank you’ echoing between them.

The hug was short-lived though, as Diego was quick to slither between them, wrapping himself around his soulmate and softly at the royal.

Roman just stared at him wide eyed for a second, before bursting out in a fit of giggles seeing him snuggle close to his friend. Right behind them, he caught Janus shooting them a small jealous glare, hugging himself and blushing upon getting caught, his eyes running away.

“Hey, I think someone else is jealous too.” The royal chuckled, gesturing with his head towards Patton’s soulmate, making his friend immediately break into a sweet smile.

“”Go. I’m pretty sure he needs all the love and affection you can offer him.” And Patton didn’t need to be told twice, immediately running to his soulmate and wrapping him in a big hug that left him stumbling.

After a few more minutes of walking, they finally came to a stop at the edge of the forest, in front of them tall, thick wall toward over them, the giant doors to the kingdom guarded by two men in uniform.

Letting out a sigh, Roman went over to Virgil, hugging him from behind and gently laying his head on his shoulder.

“Welcome home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! I'm not going to lie i don't like how the end turned out at all, neither do i think this is the best chapter i have ever put out but oh well.
> 
> This said, i'm pretty sure this story is coming to a close, the next chapter there will be a bit of Remus angst, since it was requested, but that's a bout it. 
> 
> let me know what you think of the chapter and let me know if there's something you want to see before the end of the story, i'll try my best to put it in, one way or another.
> 
> as always, feel free to point out any mistakes/typos so can i can correct the work!
> 
> Bye!
> 
> Ali c:


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